Search

Background: Sports are associated with numerous physiological and psychological benefits. However, it is unclear to what extent adults with congenital heart disease(CHD) participate in sports and whether this is safe. Furthermore, little is known about lifestyle habits in this group., Methods: Consecutive patients diagnosed with atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis, tetralogy of Fallot and transposition of the great arteries who underwent open-heart surgery during childhood between 1968 and 1980 were included in a longitudinal follow-up study. Patients underwent cardiological investigations every 10 years and completed a questionnaire regarding sports participation in 2011 and in 2021., Results: Of the 2021 cohort(n = 204, mean age:50 years, 46%female), 49% participated in sports. Compared to the general Dutch population they invested less time in sport(female: p = 0.03, male: p = 0.03). Patients participating in sports had better exercise capacity (p < 0.001) and lower average heart rate(p < 0.001). Patients engaged in sports reported better physical and mental health when compared to the norm and non-sporters. Mortality and cardiac events did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Finally, no difference in lifestyle was found between adults with CHD and the general population, only smoking was less often reported among adults with CHD(p = 0.036)., Conclusions: Adults with CHD are significantly less involved in sports than their peers. Patients who were engaged in sports had better physical and mental health compared to those who were not. Sport participation was associated with lower heart rate and better exercise capacity. No negative effect in terms of cardiac events was observed in sporters. No signs of bad lifestyle were observed in adults with CHD., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Associate Editor of International Journal of Cardiology: Congenital Heart Disease - J.W. Roos-Hesselink. All other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Nowadays, more than 90% of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) reach adulthood. Their long-term psychopathological development is not well known., Material and Methods: Our unique, single center, longitudinal cohort-study evaluates a series of consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery in their childhood between 1968 and 1980 every ten years. Standardized questionnaires were used to measure psychopathology at 4 follow-up time points (1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021) and outcomes were compared with normative data. Results in the current evaluation were corrected for the Covid-19 stringency index., Results: At the current (4th) evaluation in 2021 (n = 204, 46.1% female, age: 49.9 ± 5.2), female patients with CHD reported more internalizing problems than the normative group. More specifically, they reported significantly more somatic complaints. Proxy-reports showed significantly less externalizing problems for males. No significant difference was found between mild and moderate/severe CHD in terms of psychopathology. Correction for Covid-19 stringency showed no significant effect.Over time, the percentage of patients scoring in the psychopathological range decreased from the first (1991, 25.4%) to the third follow-up (2011, 1.8%). However, the current study showed a significant increase (9.6%) of the psychopathology levels in comparison with 2011., Conclusions: Compared to normative data, female CHD patients reported significantly more internalizing problems, particularly more somatic complaints. Initially, the level of psychopathology decreased over time. However, in the last decade, there was a significant increase in psychopathology, warranting continuous attention to the psychological health issues of adults with CHD., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Associate Editor of International Journal of Cardiology: Congenital Heart Disease - J.W. Roos-Hesselink, (© 2022 The Authors.)