Mid Term Evaluation of Patients Undergoing Surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot with 24 Hour Rhythm Holter and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Objective: This study aimed to obtain mid-term evaluation of exercise capacity and arrhythmias with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and 24-hour rhythm Holter in Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients who underwent surgery. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of patients over 6 years of age who had undergone complete correction surgery for TOF, while the control group consisted of healthy children of a similar age group who did not have any heart disease. Echocardiography, 24-hour Holter monitoring and CPET were applied to both groups. Results: Study group included 14 patients who were operated on due to TOF and 9 healthy children as the control group. During echocardiographic examination; aortic diameter, pulmonary annulus, right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic areas were found to be significantly larger in the patient group (p=0.044, p=0.017, p=0.05, p=0.012 respectively). Myocardial performance index (Tei index-MPI) calculated from mitral and tricuspid valve annulus was found to be significantly higher in the patient group (p=0.05 for both). During CPET, stroke volume and VO2max levels were significantly smaller in patients (p=0.004, p=0.044 respectively). Conclusion: Although operated TOF patients are asymptomatic in the mid-term, the exercise capacity in these patients is lower than in healthy individuals and this decrease is related to right ventricular size and dysfunction.