What to Expect With Young Hearts in Motion

Our exercise program welcomes children with simple or complex congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease. Conditions include single ventricle anomalies, cardiomyopathy, Kawasaki disease, pulmonary hypertension, lipid abnormality, and others.

Your child will start with an evaluation for participation, which includes a health assessment.
Once active in the program, your child will participate in a virtual exercise program at home, led by an exercise physiologist and guided by pediatric cardiologists.
Exercise sessions take place three times a week for 12 weeks and last approximately 45 to 60 minutes.
For convenience, after-hours sessions are available, and some equipment is provided.
Sessions are one-on-one and tailored to your child’s specific goals. The aim is improving abilities and fitness, not weight loss.
We provide an in-person health assessment once a month to ensure safety and to measure progress. When your child completes the program, they receive a graduation certificate.
After completing the program, our exercise physiologist follows your child’s continued progress during the first year.

What to expect from our health evaluation

To start, we ask for a referral from your doctor.
Next, we provide a medical assessment to evaluate your child’s suitability for our program, including an echocardiogram.
Your child with heart disease is then seen by one of our exercise physiologists for a baseline evaluation. This includes a cardiopulmonary exercise test and a strength/aerobic/flexibility assessment.
With this information in hand, we classify the severity of your child’s disease and design a safe, effective exercise program.
Lastly, you will complete a nutrition survey and, if needed, see our dietitians for a telehealth nutrition evaluation. Your child also completes a mental health survey and receives mindfulness coaching throughout the program in conjunction with the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center Thrive Program.