Many young adults with congenital heart disease have been encouraged to lead a largely sedentary life, however physical activity can benefit them as much as anyone else, heart experts have insisted.

Congenital heart disease refers to people who were born with some sort of heart defect. These defects are present in around 1% of live births and are the most common congenital malformations found in Irish newborns.

Every year, up to 600 babies in Ireland are born with a congenital heart defect.

According to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the diagnosis and treatment of these defects has improved greatly over the last number of years, so much so that most people born with them can look forward to a long life.

Years ago, most did not survive past their first birthday, however now, the population of those with congenital heart disease who reach adulthood is expected to grow at a rate of 5% per year.

In a new position paper on this subject, the ESC notes that many young adults with congenital heart disease have been encouraged to lead a sedentary and non-disruptive lifestyle.

It points to one study which found that just one in five affected children had ever even been given advice on exercise.

However, it emphasised that exercise is just as important for this group - it is a matter of determining which exercise to undertake, how often and how intensely.

The ESC paper includes recommendations by the Working Group of Grown Up Congenital Heart Disease. This group emphasises that most people with congenital heart disease will achieve ‘significant improvement of their exercise capacity as well as their psychological state' if they undertake physical activity.

The key is that each person undertakes an activity that is appropriate for them, in other words, that they receive an ‘individualised exercise prescription'.

The recommendations, which are the first specifically targeted at teenagers and young adults with congenital heart disease, cover a wide range of exercises - from everyday activities to leisure time sports.

"We hope that these recommendations will offer reassurance to patients and physicians alike, and encourage a physically active lifestyle, so that patients with congenital heart disease can achieve the benefits of regular exercise at the lowest possible risk," said Professor Werner Budts of the University Hospital Leuven in Belgium.

He noted that a wide range of activities are included in the recommendations, including ‘high static' sports, such as water skiing and team sports.

However, Prof Budts warned that people should monitor their symptoms and heart rate while exercising, ‘to ensure they do not exceed the recommendations, at least for prolonged periods of time'.

He acknowledges that some patients will be limited in what they can do as a result of their heart condition, but added that ‘for the majority of young adults with congenital heart disease, we believe that patient-tailored advice will improve health behavior, influence positively their cardiovascular risk profile, and ultimately benefit outcome'.

Details of these new recommendations are published in the European Heart Journal.

For more information on heart health, see our Heart Disease Clinic here