Exercise electrocardiography in the evaluation of cardiac dysrhythmias in children.

Exercise electrocardiography is a useful means to evaluate dysrhythmias in children and young adults. Exercise may suppress a dysrhythmia present at rest and thus suggest a relatively benign problem. It may provoke a latent dysrhythmia which is absent at rest but suggested by a history of exercise intolerance or palpitation with exertion. Exercise may also modify a dysrhythmia. Maximum exercise testing has been used to evaluate each of these situations in children. The results of testing will be presented. Since no dysrhythmias were provoked in 170 healthy children, we think that any dysrhythmia initiated by exercise in the young should be considered abnormal.