Abstract
Physical exercise is one of the important components of daily life in children and adults in terms of mental and physical health, even preventing cardiovascular diseases. However, because inappropriate physical exercise may be harmful and even create the risk of cardiac events in these patients, it is very important for pediatric and adult cardiologists to evaluate and stratify the exercise-associated risks of expected and/or unexpected events. In this respect, exercise testing can give us useful information not only on management but also on the pathophysiology and severity of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, exercise testing, especially that with expired gas analysis, i.e., cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), is expected to play an important role in the fields of clinical and research settings for pediatric and adult cardiovascular patients. However, performing an exercise test requires specialized knowledge and skills so that the appropriate stress tests can be done safely because exercise itself may be a risk factor for some patients, especially children. In this review, I show the global picture of exercise stress testing, including tips and pitfalls for practicing CPX, and referent normal values with CPX-derived variables.
