Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of participants.
| Variable | Group 1 | Group 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 8.1 ± 4.1 | 15.6 ± 2.6** |
| Sex (female) | 8 (62) | 15 (44) |
| Height (cm) | 124.1 ± 26.8 | 165.4 ± 13.5** |
| Weight (kg) | 32.3 ± 25.1 | 59.0 ± 17.1** |
| Body surface area (m2) | 1.0 ± 0.5 | 1.6 ± 0.3* |
| Arm circumference (cm) | 20.4 ± 5.6 | 25.4 ± 3.9** |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 80 ± 9 | 70 ± 11* |
| Brachial systolic pressure (mmHg) | 91.6 ± 11.1 | 115.9 ± 12.1** |
| Brachial diastolic pressure (mmHg) | 48.4 ± 8.4 | 65.6 ± 6.2** |
| ASD/PDA/PFO/VSD | 7 (47) | 7 (21) |
| Transposition of the Great Arteries | 3 (20) | 7 (21) |
| Tetralogy of Fallot | 0 (0) | 9 (27) |
| Controls (normal, healthy participants) | 0 (0) | 6 (18) |
| Coarctation of the Aorta | 0 (0) | 4 (12) |
| Pre-Fontan (BCPC) | 4 (27) | 0 (0) |
| Cardiomyopathy | 1 (7) | 2 (6) |
| Pulmonary atresia | 0 (0) | 3 (9) |
| Fontan | 2 (13) | 0 (0) |
| Pulmonary artery stenosis | 0 (0) | 2 (6) |
| Transplant (CM) | 1 (7) | 0 (0) |
Data presented as mean ± standard deviation or n (%). Some participants had more than one condition; therefore, the tally of cardiac conditions is greater than the number of participants. There are 15 participants in Group 1 and 34 participants in Group 2. Three participants did not have an arm circumference recorded (therefore n = 46 for this comparison). The ‘Controls’ group refers to participants without a history of cardiac surgery and who were screened but found to have normal cardiac and vascular anatomy and function. The ‘Cardiomyopathy’ group refers to the following conditions: constrictive pericarditis; arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy; and myocarditis.
ASD atrial septal defect, PDA patent ductus arteriosus, PFO patent foramen ovale, VSD ventricular septal defect, BCPC bi-directional cavo-pulmonary connection, CM cardiomyopathy.
*p = 0.01 and **p ≤ 0.001 when Groups 1 and 2 were compared.