Abstract 17210: Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Non Fatal Cardiovascular Events

Introduction: To examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and risk of non-fatal cardiovascular events. Methods: Cardiorespiratory fitness, as measured by maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), was assessed at baseline in a prospective cohort of 2,089 men aged 42-61 years from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Study (KIHD). Results: During a mean follow-up of 19.1 years (SD 8.4), 522 non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (MI) events, 198 acute all cause non-fatal stroke events and 221 non-fatal incident heart failure (HF) events were recorded. The hazard ratio (HR) per 1 MET increase in CRF was 0.93(95% CI: 0.88-0.97) for non-fatal MI, 0.94(95% CI: 0.87-1.01) for non-fatal stroke and 0.84(95% CI: 0.78-0.91) for non-fatal HF events after adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors (age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, alcohol use, serum creatinine, low density lipoprotein levels, physical activity and socioeconomic status). Further adjustment for additional risk factors did not substantially attenuate these associations. In a comparison of extreme quartiles of CRF levels, the corresponding adjusted HRs were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.55-0.99) for non-fatal MI, 0.91(95% CI: 0.58-1.44) non-fatal stroke and 0.49(95% CI: 0.30-0.80) for non-fatal HF respectively, Figures 1& 2. Conclusions: In this Finnish population, there is a strong, inverse, and independent association between CRF and non-fatal MI and HF risk, but not for acute non-fatal stroke events. The protective effect of CRF on non-fatal cardiovascular events needs further investigation in larger studies.