Gültuna, Ajda (2026) Improvement of physical fitness in adults with congenital heart disease following cardiac rehabilitation: a cross-sectional and retrospective observational study. thesis, Medicine.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Due to improvements in medical care, survival of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) has improved over the past decades. As a result, many children with CHD reach adulthood, causing a shift of focus within this patient group to their quality of life and lower physical fitness level. VO2peak (peak oxygen uptake) is the golden standard for measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness, but limited research has been done on the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on VO2peak. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of cardiac rehabilitation on VO2peak among adults with CHD, and to assess the baseline characteristics associated with VO2peak as well as the change in VO2peak made during rehabilitation. Data were analysed of 126 adult CHD patients who had undergone cardiac rehabilitation in Beatrixoord (UMCG), between 2012 and 2024. CPET (cardiopulmonary exercise testing) was used to measure baseline VO2peak. 39 patients had also undergone CPET upon completion of rehabilitation. Of this subpopulation, ΔVO2peak was measured to assess the effect of rehabilitation on physical fitness. The average baseline VO2peak was 18.56 ± 6.62 mL⋅kg-1⋅min-1 . After completion of rehabilitation, VO2peak increased to an average of 19.89 ± 7.48 mL⋅kg-1⋅min-1 , revealing a statistically significant increase of 1.33 ± 3.60 mL⋅kg-1⋅min-1 . A higher Charlson Comorbidity Index, lower peak heart rate, and higher medication use were independently associated with baseline VO2peak. No independent significant associations were found for ΔVO2peak.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Melle, Joost van and Schoonbeek, Marije |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Oct 2026 12:20 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Oct 2026 12:20 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3963 |
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