AHA Updates Pediatric Heart Activity Guidelines

The American Heart Association issued a new scientific statement, published in Circulation, suggesting that physical activity for children and adolescents with certain heart conditions, such as cardiomyopathies or those with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), may be safer than previously thought. Jonathan B. Edelson, chair of the writing group and associated with Children s Hospital of Philadelphia, highlighted that restricting movement can negatively affect children's heart health, physical fitness, mental well-being, social development, and quality of life. The statement advocates for a personalized approach to physical activity, moving away from a one-size-fits-all restriction, and emphasizes individualized risk assessments, shared decision-making between clinicians, families, and patients, and ongoing follow-up. It suggests that light-to-moderate intensity exercise and even structured physical activity or competitive sports may be reasonable for carefully selected pediatric patients after expert assessment.