Evaluations of Cardiopulmonary Function and Motor Development of Congenital Heart Disease

APP Rehabilitation Management and Evaluations of Cardiopulmonary Function and Motor Development in Infants With Congenital Heart Disease: a Pilot Study

In this single-center, randomized controlled trial, patients (4-8 months) with CHD were randomly assigned to either a recovery group (home-based rehab exercise periodically) supervised by cellphone APP or to a control group. Left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF), the rate of increase in heart rate (rHRI), and the rate of recovery heart rate (rHRR) were measured for representing cardiopulmonary capacity. The Alberta test and Neuro-intelligence Scale were used to evaluate their motor developmental outcomes. This study verified the feasibility of this rehab method and indicated that 6-month home-based exercise training can improve cardiopulmonary endurance and motor developmental level in infant CHD patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• CHD infants (aged 4-8 months) with atrial septum defect (ASD) or ventricular septum defect (VSD)

Exclusion Criteria:

• chromosomal abnormalities; family history of mental retardation; small for gestational age and prematurity; history of perinatal asphyxia and hyperbilirubinemia; history of central nervous system disease or imaging suggestive of brain dysplasia