Effect of aerobic training on exercise performance in patients after the Fontan operation

Exercise prescription for patients with a Fontan circulation: current evidence and future directions

“…McCall & Humphrey 30 Exercise capacity (treadmill exercise test) Improvement in exercise capacity Minamisawa et al 31 Exercise capacity (bicycle ergometer) 7% improvement in VO 2peak Opocher et al 34 Exercise capacity (treadmill exercise test) 19% improvement in VO 2peak Rhodes et al 28 Exercise capacity (bicycle ergometer) 22% improvement in VO 2peak Rhodes et al 28 Pulmonary function 7% improvement in FEV1 Moalla et al 27,29 Exercise capacity (bicycle ergometer) 8.1% improvement in VO 2peak Moalla et al 27 Six-minute walk 13% improvement in walking distance Moalla et al 29 Oxygenation respiratory muscles (NIRS) 28% improvement in respiratory muscle oxygenation Moalla et al 29 Pulmonary function Nonsignificant improvements in FEV1 (7.5%), FVC (6.2%), TLC (4.2) and MVV (5.7%) Brassard et al 23 Exercise capacity (bicycle ergometer test) No significant improvement in VO 2peak Brassard et al 23 Muscle strength No significant improvement in MVC Brassard et al 23 Blood pressure Significant improvement in ergoreflex culation. All six published studies showed that exercise training could improve exercise capacity in patients with a Fontan circulation.…”

“…Minamisawa et al 31 studied exercise programmes in 11 patients with Fontan circulation, each subject entered an exercise programme that was individually prescribed. The exercise programme consisted of three supervised training sessions in the first three weeks of the programme; thereafter the training was continued using home-based exercise training sessions.…”

Exercise Standards for Testing and Training

“…On completion of a variety of training programs, peak Vȯ 2 has been reported to increase 7% to 21% over baseline values. [586][587][588][589] Most of the improvement appears to be attributable to an increase in the oxygen pulse at peak exercise. 589 In one study, the short-term improvements were sustained 6 to 9 months after the termination of the rehabilitation program (1 year after the prerehabilitation study) and were associated with improvements in lifestyle, perceived exercise function, self-esteem, and emotional state.…”

Exercise capacity and impact of exercise training in patients after a Fontan procedure: A review

“…Minamisawa et al (18) reported a 7% increase in maximal workload and VO 2 max and a 5% increase in exercise time in 11 patients following a 11-to 15-week aerobic exercise training program. Recently, Opocher et al (19) observed a 19% increase in both VO 2 max and oxygen pulse, and enhancement of submaximal heart rate and oxygen pulse pattern after an eight-month aerobic exercise training in 10 Fontan patients.…”

“…Some may increase their exercise tolerance during the six years following surgery (16), while other may have a deterioration in their exercise tolerance (17). Deconditioning may contribute to this deterioration because aerobic exercise training has been shown to improve these patients' functional capacity (18)(19)(20)(21). Nevertheless, this long-term decline in exercise tolerance following the procedure may also be related to the disease progression (17) or to the reduced capacity to increase the cardiac output (Q) in response to exercise secondary to the Fontantype circulation, thus limiting the oxygen transport to the periphery (22,23).…”