Funding outcome

Individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) have a shorter lifespan, due in part to reduced exercise capacity (fitness levels). Exercise programs for children with CHD have yielded inconsistent results and are often limited by a number of factors and barriers. For example, exercise programs have often taken place in hospitals. While this allows for live supervision, hospital-based programs are inconvenient, inaccessible (especially for more rural populations, or those who live in separate cities or provinces), and costly. The goal of this project is to implement a home-based exercise program for 10-18 year old children with repaired CHD to improve not only their EC, but also improve physical activity and promote positive attitudes towards physical activity and exercise. The home-based program (12-weeks, 36 sessions) will be implemented using the MedBIKE™, a video game-linked bicycle that permits a live two-way audio and visual communication (as well as heart tracing and oxygen saturation monitoring) between the child and the supervisor. The MedBIKE™ program incorporates a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program, involving multiple short bursts of activity separated with periods of rest. The supervisor can modify the resistance at any time according to the participant's ability. Prior to the intervention, participants will first undergo a baseline evaluation, including an exercise test, physical activity measurements, and questionnaires about quality of life and attitudes toward physical activity. They will then be randomized to receive the MedBIKE or carry on with usual care for 12-weeks, at which point the evaluations will be repeated. For participants that did not get the MedBIKE, they will then receive the MedBIKE, with a third evaluation 12-weeks thereafter. Follow-up assessments will also occur 6- and 12-months after the MedBIKE program. Through this study we aim to introduce a fun, safe, and effective form of exercise for children with CHD.