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As surgical options and medical care for patients with univentricular heart physiology continue to improve, leading to increased life expectancy and quality of life, a new population of Fontan patients is growing up with the desire to participate in leisure activities, including aquatic activities, high-altitude stays, and air travel. Due to significant data gaps and insufficient experience, current guidelines do not provide clear recommendations, leading to uncertainty and sometimes restrictive patient management. This review summarizes new insights and the current state of research on this subject and provides an overview of the long overdue change in policies toward less restrictive counseling for Fontan patients regarding swimming, diving, high-altitude stays, and air travel. The current review summarizes the physiologic impact of aquatic and high-altitude activities on the cardiovascular system and presents currently available data on this topic in Fontan patients. Patients with Fontan circulation in good clinical shape can tolerate activities in the water and in the mountains as well as air traveling without critical events. In order to be able to make general recommendations, further studies with larger numbers of cases must be carried out., Competing Interests: Declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Heart failure is a common phenomenon in congenital heart disease patients. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is used for a reliable assessment of heart failure but is still challenging, especially for young children. Implementing mobile cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) can close that diagnostic gap. While average values for healthy children have already been published, this study aims to describe typical ranges of cardiovascular performance parameters of young children with congenital heart disease performing an 8-min running cardiopulmonary exercise test. Children aged 4-8 years with common congenital heart defects after corrective surgery (Tetralogy of Fallot; transposition of the great arteries and univentricular hearts after palliation) were included. The outdoor running protocol consisted of slow walking, slow jogging, fast jogging, and maximum speed running. Each exercise was performed for 2 min, except the last, in which children were instructed to keep up maximal speed as long as possible. A total of 78 children (45 male/33 female, mean age 6,24) with congenital heart disease participated in the study, of which 97% completed the CPET successfully. A detailed description of participating patients, including data on cardiac function and subjective fitness levels, is given to help physicians use this method to classify their patients. This study presents a typical range for cardiovascular performance parameters in a population of 4-8-year-old children with congenital heart disease tested in a newly developed outdoor running protocol for CPET., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

To improve long-term outcome after cryoablation of substrates of supraventricular tachycardia, application of two and three consecutive freeze-thaw cycles has been performed. The effect of triple freeze-thaw cycles on lesion formation within developing myocardium and coronary arteries, however, has not been studied yet. In eight piglets (mean age 15 weeks, weight 15-20 kg), 30 cryolesions (three consecutive freeze-thaw cycles) were applied to the atrial aspect of both AV valve annuli (n = 18) as well as to ventricular myocardium below the valves (n = 12). Coronary angiography was performed before and after cryoenergy application. The animals were reevaluated by coronary angiography and intracoronary ultrasound (ICUS) after 48 h. All hearts were removed for histological examination of the lesions subsequently. After staining (hematoxylin-eosin, desmin immunohistochemistry), lesions was measured by planimetry with a digital virtual miscroscope analysis system and volumes of the cryolesions were calculated. Mean atrial lesion volume was 190.68 ± 167.53 mm 3 (n = 18), and mean ventricular lesion volume was 184.34 ± 107.42 mm 3 (n = 12). Compared with previously reported data on lesion volumes after single and double freeze-thaw cycles, lesions were significantly larger. Coronary arteries were unaffected on coronary angiography as well as on ICUS. No affection of coronary arteries was found on histological examination. Application of three consecutive freeze-thaw cycles resulted in increased lesion volume compared with single and double freeze-thaw cycles. No affection of the coronary arteries was evident. To evaluate the clinical benefit and safety of triple cryoenergy application for catheter ablation, prospective randomized trials are required.

Accessory atrioventricular pathways (AP) are the most common substrate for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in infants and small children. Up-to-date data on AP ablation in infants and small children are limited. The aim of the present study was to gain additional insight into radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of AP in infants and toddlers focusing on efficacy and safety in patients with a body weight of ≤ 15 kg. Since 10/2002, RF ablation of AP was performed in 281 children in our institution. Indications, procedural data as well as success and complication rates in children with a body weight ≤ 15 kg (n = 22) were compared with children > 15 kg (n = 259). Prevalence of structural heart anomalies was significantly higher among children ≤ 15 kg (27 vs. 5.7 %; p = 0.001). Procedure duration (median 262 vs. 177 min; p = 0.001) and fluoroscopy time (median 20.6 vs. 14.0 min; p = 0.007) were significantly longer among patients ≤ 15 kg. Procedural success rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (82 vs. 90 %). More RF lesions were required for AP ablation in the smaller patients (median 12 vs. 7; p = 0.019). Major complication rate was significantly higher in children ≤ 15 kg (9 vs. 1.1 %; p = 0.05) with femoral vessel occlusion being the only major adverse event in patients ≤ 15 kg. Catheter ablation of AP in children was effective irrespective of body weight. In children ≤ 15 kg, however, procedures were more challenging and time-consuming. Complication rate and number of RF lesions in smaller children were higher when compared to older children.