Complications of ergometer exercise in children.

To determine the frequency of significant complications of exercise testing in children, we reviewed 1,730 studies performed over a 9-year period, 1973 to 1982. The protocol used a graded, continuous test to maximal effort on a cycle ergometer. The overall incidence of complications was 1.79%, similar to the 1.7% previously reported by Freed [4]. No deaths occurred. Complications were classified into 4 groups with their frequency of occurrence as follows: chest pain (0.69%), dizziness or syncope (0.29%), decreased blood pressure (0.35%), hazardous arrhythmias (0.46%). These data confirm that exercise testing in children has low morbidity and mortality. We believe that the safety of stress testing should encourage physicians to expand its use in the assessment of functional ability.