Research has transformed pediatric medicine, and more children than ever are surviving congenital heart disease, cancer and other serious conditions. But as Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, explores in this episode of The Lead in Peds, surviving does not always mean thriving. Many children face fatigue, reduced stamina and anxiety about physical activity long after treatment ends, and traditional follow-up measures can miss how these challenges affect daily life.

Pascal Amedro, MD, PhD, the inaugural Dunn Family Professor of Cardiac Research at Children’s National, joins the podcast to reframe pediatric cardiac rehabilitation as medicine. He explains how cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and measures like VO2 max can reveal early “silent” deconditioning and help clinicians focus on what matters most: function, confidence and quality of life. Dr. Amedro also shares the three-pillar model behind the Qualirehab approach, combining exercise training, patient education and mental health support, and looks ahead to a future where rehabilitation is prevention-focused, hybrid-enabled and built around children’s needs, not just their diagnoses.