Identify the Fundamentals of Exercise Physiology Across the Lifespan: Describe the basic principles of exercise physiology with an emphasis on patients with congenital heart disease (CHD).
Acquire Skills to Conduct and Interpret Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET): Acquire the ability to set up and conduct CPET and interpret key CPET variables and effectively report findings in patients with CHD.
Analyze Physiological Responses in CHD Patients: Use clinical case examples to evaluate physiological impairments and how these affect a patient’s exercise capacity and health outcomes.
Apply CPET Data to Guide Clinical Decisions: Utilize CPET insights to inform decisions on management for patients with CHD.
This is the first course dedicated to pediatric exercise physiology and testing in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and pediatric acquired heart disease. Educational goals are to understand the science and practice of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in these patients and to be able to make clinically useful insights. The course is intended for physicians, exercise physiologists, physical therapists and advanced practice practitioners involved in exercise training and assessment for CHD. This course will utilize virtual and in-person group discussion, lecture, and hands-on learning and demonstrations. Clinical case examples will be used throughout to illustrate key concepts including practical aspects of conducting an exercise test, proper protocol selection, motivation, data integrity, and approach to interpreting data outcome metrics. Clinical applications will also be discussed. The development for this course is in response to the overwhelming requests for practical instruction in exercise assessment for this population and is in honor of the late Dr. Jonathan Rhodes who was a pioneer in the field. His textbook “Exercise Physiology for the Pediatric and Congenital Cardiologist” will serve as a key course reference.
