Mechanographic characteristics of adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease

The present study comprised 29 adolescents and young adults (15 females, 14 males; aged 14.1–23.9 years) with congenital heart disease (CHD) and focused on the interaction between the biomechanical system and CHD. Individuals were characterized by auxological (height, weight), dynamometric (MIGF, maximal isometric grip force) and mechanograpic parameters (V_max, maximal velocity; PJF, peak jump force; PJP, peak jump power; time of five stand-ups in chair-rising test). PJF, PJP and MIGF were transformed into height-related SD-scores. MIGF-SDS and PJP-SDS were lower in the CHD patients than in reference individuals. PJP-SDS was lower than PJF-SDS. PJP-SDS was correlated to V_max (r = 0.62) and to the time of five-stand-ups in chair-rising (r = −0.62). Transcutaneous oxygen saturation and NYHA classes were correlated to V_max (r = 0.42 and r = −0.57, respectively) and to chair-rising performance (r = −0.60 and r = 0.50, respectively). To conclude, individuals with CHD are characterized by an impaired inter- and intramuscular coordination, which is characterized by a greater decrease in muscular power than muscle force.