Funding outcome

Children who have undergone heart transplants (HT) have lower fitness levels than children in the general population. In the adult HT population, lower fitness levels significantly impact long-term health and well being. Thankfully, exercise training programs can improve fitness levels and long-term outcomes. The effect of exercise treatment programs for children who have undergone HTs has not been well studied. As a result, the MedBIKE™ was developed, a home-based, video-game-linked exercise bike that allows for supervised and individualized exercise programs for children who received HTs. This project will include children between 10 to 18 years old, who are at least 6 months post-HT. Participants will complete questionnaires and undergo an exercise stress test to determine their baseline fitness levels. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the control group with usual care, or the MedBIKE™ group, whereupon the MedBIKE™ will be installed in their home. This 12-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program has 3 sessions a week for a total of 36 sessions. All sessions are supervised remotely by a health care provider, who can modify the difficulty of each session as needed. After the 12 weeks, the participants will return to complete questionnaires and have another exercise stress test. The participants in the control group can then receive the MedBIKE and complete the 12-week program. This study will be the first to evaluate a home-based, supervised exercise program in children who have undergone HT. We hope these findings will promote a safe, effective, and accessible exercise program to young HT recipients who live across northern Alberta.