Abstract
Background: Achieving healthy vascular aging (HVA) is important for decelerating age-related cardiovascular disease risk. We evaluated the interplay between HVA, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and subclinical atherosclerosis.
Methods: We analyzed data on 3,722 men who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a health examination program. HVA was defined as blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg without hypertension and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity <1,266 cm/sec. CRF was directly measured by peak oxygen uptake. Subclinical atherosclerosis was defined as coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores of >0 and ≥100 and a mean carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) >75th percentile for each age group as well as >0.8 mm of CIMT. Separate and joint associations of HVA and CRF with subclinical atherosclerosis were evaluated.
Results: Each 1 MET increment in CRF was associated with 23% higher odds for having HVA. HVA was associated with lower odds of CAC, but not CIMT. CRF modified the association between HVA and CIMT>0.8 mm (interaction: p=0.01); HVA was associated with lower odds of CIMT>0.8 in fit men with no significant association between HVA and CIMT>0.8 mm in unfit men. Compared with no HVA and being unfit, HVA and being fit was associated with lower odds of subclinical atherosclerosis, but there was no significant association between HVA and being unfit with subclinical atherosclerosis.
Conclusion: HVA and higher CRF are each associated with a lower risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in men. Higher CRF is associated with a higher prevalence of HVA and may modify the association between HVA and subclinical atherosclerosis.
Methods: We analyzed data on 3,722 men who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a health examination program. HVA was defined as blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg without hypertension and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity <1,266 cm/sec. CRF was directly measured by peak oxygen uptake. Subclinical atherosclerosis was defined as coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores of >0 and ≥100 and a mean carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) >75th percentile for each age group as well as >0.8 mm of CIMT. Separate and joint associations of HVA and CRF with subclinical atherosclerosis were evaluated.
Results: Each 1 MET increment in CRF was associated with 23% higher odds for having HVA. HVA was associated with lower odds of CAC, but not CIMT. CRF modified the association between HVA and CIMT>0.8 mm (interaction: p=0.01); HVA was associated with lower odds of CIMT>0.8 in fit men with no significant association between HVA and CIMT>0.8 mm in unfit men. Compared with no HVA and being unfit, HVA and being fit was associated with lower odds of subclinical atherosclerosis, but there was no significant association between HVA and being unfit with subclinical atherosclerosis.
Conclusion: HVA and higher CRF are each associated with a lower risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in men. Higher CRF is associated with a higher prevalence of HVA and may modify the association between HVA and subclinical atherosclerosis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1445–1454 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Hypertension |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 10 May 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2022 |
Keywords
- Healthy vascular aging
- cardiorespiratory fitness
- subclinical atherosclerosis
- arterial stiffness
Access to Document
- Full-text PDF (author accepted manuscript)
This is the accepted author manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19016. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.