Studies show that high fitness levels can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases in men

A 29-year study has recently demonstrated that men whose fitness levels are high have lower chances of dying from cardiovascular diseases.

While it may sound obvious now given our current knowledge of fitness and diseases, but a 29-year long study has empirically proven that men with high levels of fitness have lesser chances of dying from cardiovascular diseases.

The findings of the study were published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC.

"This was the first study to evaluate the joint effects of fitness and blood pressure on the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease," said study author Professor Jari Laukkanen of the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

"The results suggest that being fit helps protect against some of the negative effects of high blood pressure."

The number of people between the ages of 30 and 79 who suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension all over the world is estimated at around 1.3 billion! It is an insane figure which just goes to show how current lifestyle and diet has put most people at risk.

Across the world, hypertension is one of the major causes of premature death and a significant risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. 

While previous studies have amicably demonstrated that a strong threshold of cardiovascular fitness is associated with longer lifespan, the current study conducted in Finland 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 Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Baseline measurements were conducted between 1984 and 1989.

These baseline measurements included factors such as blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness, which was assessed as maximal oxygen uptake while riding a stationary bicycle. Blood pressure was classified as normal or high, and fitness was classified as low, medium or high.

The participants were continually monitored until 2018 and during a median follow up of 29 years, there were 644 deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

After adjusting for several factors such as age, body mass index, cholesterol levels, smoking status, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, use of antihypertensive medication, alcohol consumption, physical activity, socioeconomic status, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, the risk of fatal cardiovascular diseases was analysed.

Men who had high blood pressure and low fitness levels had a more than doubled risk of cardiovascular death compared to those people with normal blood pressure and high fitness. When men with high blood pressure had high fitness levels, their elevated risk of cardiovascular risk persisted but was weaker: it was 55% higher than those with normal blood pressure and high fitness .

Professor Laukkanen said: “Both high blood pressure and low fitness levels were each associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death. High fitness levels attenuated, but did not eliminate, the increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in men with elevated blood pressure.”