AHA Clears Path for Exercise in Kids With Cardiomyopathy
For years, children with cardiomyopathy were routinely told to avoid physical activity due to fears of sudden cardiac death. A new American Heart Association scientific statement challenges this approach. Emerging evidence suggests that exercise restriction may actually harm these children by promoting sedentary behavior, poor fitness, and secondary metabolic disease — without necessarily reducing cardiac risk. The statement provides updated, individualized frameworks for safely engaging kids with hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive, and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy in physical activity. It incorporates advanced imaging, exercise testing, and genetic data to guide risk stratification, and emphasizes shared decision-making between clinicians, patients, and families. The conclusion: most children with cardiomyopathy can and should exercise safely.