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Exercise capacity and all-cause mortality in prehypertensive men
Peter Kokkinos1, Jonathan Myers, Michael Doumas
1Department of Cardiology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. peter.kokkinos@med.va.gov
American Journal of Hypertension
|April 18, 2009
Summary
Higher exercise capacity significantly lowers mortality risk in prehypertensive individuals. This protective effect of fitness is more pronounced in younger adults, highlighting the importance of age in assessing health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Prehypertension elevates mortality risk, prompting debate on treatment.
- The impact of exercise capacity on mortality in prehypertensives is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between exercise capacity and all-cause mortality in individuals with prehypertension.
Main Methods:
- A graded exercise test was conducted on 4,478 prehypertensive men.
- Participants were categorized into four fitness levels based on peak metabolic equivalents (METs).
- All-cause mortality was tracked over a mean follow-up of 9 years.
Main Results:
- Exercise capacity strongly predicted mortality, independent of other risk factors.
- Each 1-MET increase in capacity reduced mortality risk by 15% overall (18% in younger, 12% in older).
- High-fit individuals (>10 METs) had a 73% lower mortality risk compared to very-low-fit individuals (≤6 METs).
Conclusions:
- A significant inverse relationship exists between exercise capacity and mortality in prehypertensives.
- Increased fitness offers substantial protection against mortality, particularly in younger individuals.
- Age is a critical factor to consider when evaluating fitness-mortality relationships.
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