Relationship between fitness and arterial stiffness according to hypertensive state

Background: There is a well-established relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and arterial stiffness. However, it is unclear whether this relationship differs significantly between hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients.Methods: Adults without a history of ischemic heart disease or stroke and normal exercise test results who underwent health screening were included. Cardiopulmonary function test was performed using the Bruce protocol. Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) was measured. Arterial stiffness was evaluated using the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV).Results: Study subjects were 9232 participants (M:F = 71:29%) with a mean age of 53 ± 6 years. Thirty-four percent had hypertension. There was an inverse relationship between the peak oxygen consumption and baPWV (r = - 0.21, p < 0.001) This relationship persisted after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hemoglobin A1c, LDL-cholesterol, mean blood pressure, and hypertension (p < 0.0001). The regression coefficient of VO2peak was significantly more negative among hypertensive subjects than it was in non-hypertensive subjects in the regression coefficient (-9.2 vs. -4.2, p for interaction <0.001). The difference in arterial stiffness between hypertensive and non-hypertensive groups decreased as the CRF increased.Conclusion: Arterial stiffness decreased as CRF increased among participants without overt cardiovascular disease. The effect of hypertension on arterial stiffness also decreased as the CRF increased.