Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Its Place in Medicine

TL;DR

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor of health outcomes and should be routinely measured in healthcare.

Contribution

The paper reinforces the clinical importance of cardiorespiratory fitness and its non-exercise estimation methods.

Findings

CRF predicts morbidity and mortality beyond traditional risk factors.

Non-exercise CRF estimates correlate with all-cause mortality.

Exercise improves CRF in line with health guidelines.

Abstract

The evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) predicts morbidity and
mortality independent of commonly obtained risk factors is beyond dispute.
Observations establishing that the addition of CRF to algorithms for estimating
cardiovascular disease risk reinforces the clinical utility of CRF. Evidence
suggesting that non-exercise estimations of CRF are associated with all-cause
mortality provides an opportunity to obtain estimates of CRF in a cost-effective
manner. Together with the observation that CRF is substantially improved in
response to exercise consistent with guideline recommendations underscores the
position that CRF should be included as a routine measure across all health care
settings. Here we provide a brief overview of the evidence in support of this
position.

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