Representative photo
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File/ GK
Washington, April 30: Being healthy can reduce the chance of death from cardiovascular disease in men with high blood pressure. This discovery is the result of a 29-year investigation.
The results of the study were published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC. “This was the first study to assess the joint effects of fitness and blood pressure on the risk of death from cardiovascular disease,” said study author Professor Jari Laukanen of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, Finland. “The findings suggest that physical activity can help avoid some of the negative effects of high blood pressure.”
About 1.3 billion people between the ages of 30 and 79 suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure. Worldwide, hypertension is one of the leading causes of premature death and a significant risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. High levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with longer life, according to previous studies. This study looked at the relationship between blood pressure, fitness and the risk of cardiovascular death.
The study included 2,280 men aged 42 to 61 years living in eastern Finland and enrolled in the Kuopio Study of Risk Factors for Ischemic Heart Disease. Baseline measurements were taken between 1984 and 1989. They included blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness, which was assessed as maximal oxygen uptake while riding a stationary bicycle. Blood pressure is classified as normal or high, and fitness is classified as low, medium, or high.
The average starting age is 53 years. Participants were followed until 2018. During a median follow-up of 29 years, there were 644 deaths due to cardiovascular disease. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was analyzed after adjustment for age, body mass index, cholesterol levels, smoking status, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, use of antihypertensive drugs, alcohol consumption, physical activity, social -economic status and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (marker of inflammation).
Considering blood pressure alone, compared with normal values, high blood pressure was associated with a 39% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.39; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 1.17-1.63). Considering fitness alone, compared with high levels, low fitness was associated with a 74% increased likelihood of cardiovascular death (HR 1.74; 95% CI 1.35-2.23).
To assess the joint associations of blood pressure and fitness with the risk of cardiovascular death, participants were categorized into four groups: 1) normal blood pressure and high fitness (this was the reference comparison group); 2) normal blood pressure and low physical fitness; 3) high blood pressure and high physical fitness; 4) high blood pressure and low physical fitness.
Men with high blood pressure and low physical fitness had more than twice the risk of cardiovascular death compared with those with normal blood pressure and high physical fitness (HR 2.35; 95% CI 1.81-3 ,04). When men with high blood pressure had high levels of fitness, their increased risk of cardiovascular risk persisted but was weaker: it was 55% higher than those with normal blood pressure and high physical fitness (HR 1.55 ; 95% CI 1.16-2.07).
Professor Laukkanen said: “Both high blood pressure and low levels of fitness are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death. High levels of fitness reduce but do not eliminate the increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in men with elevated blood pressure.