High fitness levels attenuate, but do not eliminate, the increased risk for cardiovascular mortality in
men with high BP, according to a research letter published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Jari A. Laukkanen, MD, PhD, and colleagues used data from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease study
(2,682 men; ages, 42-61) to prospectively evaluate the relationship among systolic BP, cardiorespiratory
fitness, and CVD-related mortality. During a median 28.5 years of follow-up, for BP alone, high BP was
associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality (HR, 1.39). For fitness alone, a low
versus high level of fitness was associated with an elevated likelihood of cardiovascular death
(HR, 1.74). However, men with high BP and low fitness had more than a doubled risk for cardiovascular
death versus participants with normal BP and high fitness (HR, 2.35). Compared with men with normal BP
and high fitness, elevated cardiovascular risk remained but was diminished in men with high BP and high
fitness levels (HR, 1.55).
