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(Circulation. 2003;108:1554.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.
Clinical Investigation and Reports |

From the Department of Preventive Medicine (M.G., D.K.P., H.R.B.) and Department of Medicine (M.G.), Rush-Presbyterian-St Lukes Medical Center, Chicago, Ill; Division of Cardiology (M.F.A.) and Department of Health Studies (D.S.L., R.A.T.), University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill; and Division of Cardiology (R.H.W., A.J.A-H.), St James Hospital, Chicago Heights, Ill.
Correspondence to Martha Gulati, MD, Rush Heart Institute, Rush-Presbyterian-St Lukes Medical Center, 1725 West Harrison Ave, Suite 020, Chicago, IL 60612. E-mail Martha_Gulati{at}rush.edu
Received May 6, 2003; revision received July 15, 2003; accepted July 15, 2003.
Background Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women and accounts for more than half of their deaths. Women have been underrepresented in most studies of cardiovascular disease. Reduced physical fitness has been shown to increase the risk of death in men. Exercise capacity measured by exercise stress test is an objective measure of physical fitness. The hypothesis that reduced exercise capacity is associated with an increased risk of death was investigated in a cohort of 5721 asymptomatic women who underwent baseline examinations in 1992.
Methods and Results Information collected at baseline included medical and family history, demographic characteristics, physical examination, and symptom-limited stress ECG, using the Bruce protocol. Exercise capacity was measured in metabolic equivalents (MET). Nonfasting blood was analyzed at baseline. A National Death Index search was performed to identify all-cause death and date of death up to the end of 2000. The mean age of participants at baseline was 52±11 years. Framingham Risk Scoreadjusted hazards ratios (with 95% CI) of death associated with MET levels of <5, 5 to 8, and >8 were 3.1 (2.0 to 4.7), 1.9 (1.3 to 2.9), and 1.00, respectively. The Framingham Risk Scoreadjusted mortality risk decreased by 17% for every 1-MET increase.
Conclusions This is the largest cohort of asymptomatic women studied in this context over the longest period of follow-up. This study confirms that exercise capacity is an independent predictor of death in asymptomatic women, greater than what has been previously established among men. The implications for clinical practice and health care policy are far reaching.
Key Words: exercise epidemiology mortality women
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