Cardiorespiratory Fitness Suppresses Age-Related Arterial Stiffening in Healthy Adults: A 2-Year Longitudinal Observational Study

Cardiorespiratory fitness is negatively associated with arterial stiffness, although it is unclear whether it is associated with prospective arterial stiffness changes. The authors examined cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness progression in a 2-year follow-up study of 470 healthy men and women aged 26 to 69 years. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was measured at baseline using a graded cycle exercise test. Arterial stiffness was assessed using brachialankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) at baseline and after 2 years. Two-year changes in baPWV were significantly higher in patients in the lowest VO2peak tertile (28.8 +/- 7.6 cm/ s) compared with those in the highest VO2peak tertile (-1.4 +/- 7.5 cm/ s) (P=.024) and were inversely correlated with VO2peak (r=-.112, P=.015). Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that age, glucose, baPWV, VO2peak, and sex were independent correlates of 2-year changes in baPWV, suggesting that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with age-related arterial stiffening suppression. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2016; 18: 292-298. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.