Positive mindset and exercise capacity in school-aged children and adolescents with congenital heart disease.

Patients with CHD, regardless of severity, had lower meaning and purpose scores than the general population, and these scores were associated with amount of reported physical activity. In the simple CHD subset, having a more positive mindset was associated with higher peak VO and a more negative mindset with lower peak VO. This relationship was not seen with more significant CHD. While underlying CHD diagnoses are not modifiable, mindset and peak VO are, and consideration should be given to measuring both as each may be a target for intervention.