La Fe Hospital validates new cardiopulmonary capacity model for children

The La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital in Valencia and the La Fe Health Research Institute (IIS La Fe) have participated in a study that validates a more precise model for measuring the cardiopulmonary capacity of children and adolescents.

Published in the Revista Española de Cardiología, the research utilized data from over one thousand healthy Spanish participants under the age of 18. The study demonstrates that a model based on a statistical tool known as a Z-score provides more accurate and consistent results than traditional equations used since the 1980s, particularly for children and adolescents with overweight.

This new tool aims to improve the interpretation of cardiopulmonary stress tests, assisting in clinical follow-ups, exercise prescriptions, and rehabilitation programs. The research involved three Spanish hospitals: Hospital La Fe in Valencia, Hospital Universitario Donostia, and Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío in Seville.