Takken T, Bongers BC, van Brussel M, Haapala EA, Hulzebos EHJ

Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2017 Jul;14(Supplement_1):S123-S128. doi:
10.1513/AnnalsATS.201611-912FR.

Aerobic fitness is an important determinant of overall health. Higher aerobic
fitness has been associated with many health benefits. Because myocardial
ischemia is rare in children, indications for exercise testing differ in children
compared with adults. Pediatric exercise testing is imperative to unravel the
physiological mechanisms of reduced aerobic fitness and to evaluate intervention
effects in children and adolescents with a chronic disease or disability.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing includes the measurement of respiratory gas
exchange and is the gold standard for determining aerobic fitness, as well as for
examining the integrated physiological responses to exercise in pediatric
medicine. As the physiological responses to exercise change during growth and
development, appropriate pediatric reference values are essential for an adequate
interpretation of the cardiopulmonary exercise test.