Exercise Capacity and Predictors of Performance After Fontan: Results from the Pediatric Heart Network Fontan 3 Study

Impaired exercise following Fontan is a surrogate of morbidity. Single-center longitudinal data exist, but there is a lack of contemporary multi-center data. Ramp cycle ergometry was re-performed in consented participants who had originally participated in the Pediatric Heart Network’s Fontan cross-sectional study. Annualized change was evaluated at maximal and submaximal exercise. Associations between these outcomes and patient characteristics were analyzed. There were 336 participants in Fontan 3, mean age 23.2 years. Paired measurements of peak oxygen consumption (peak VO 2 ) were available for 95; peak exercise data at Fontan 3 were available for 275. Percent-predicted peak VO 2 declined by 0.8 ± 1.7% per year ( p