Physical exercise in young patients with congenital heart disease.

The aim of this paper is to clarify two important aspects about patients affected by congenital heart disease. Their functional status plays a dominant role in the definition of quality of life related to health status, because of its implication in working and recreational activities. In the first part, we explain their cardiovascular adaptation on exercise, based on pathology (Tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of great arteries, univentricular heart). In the second part, we explain the risk of sudden death from congenital heart disease due to exercise, because of electrical cardiac instability and/or the structural abnormalities of the cardiovascular parietal walls.