Physical fitness can independently lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We explored the independent and combined associations of physical fitness, measured using the seated at rest heart rate (RHR), and the metabolic syndrome (MS), with CVD risk, as described by an elevated pulse wave velocity (PWV) in older Chinese. Data from 1,996 participants were drawn from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study-Cardiovascular Disease Subcohort. Analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis were used to establish the independent and combined associations of the RHR and the MS with PWV. The RHR was independently associated with an elevated PWV (odds ratio [OR] 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22 to 2.18), as was the MS (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.76 to 3.17). The participants with a high RHR, but without the MS, had an adjusted OR of 1.63 (95% CI 1.15 to 2.30) for the presence of the CVD proxy. Those with a low RHR and the MS had an adjusted OR of 2.35 (95% CI 1.66 to 3.33). The risk of an elevated PWV increased almost fourfold with both a high RHR and a diagnosis of the MS (OR 3.87, 95% CI 2.39 to 6.28, p = 0.52 for interaction). In conclusion, physical fitness, measured using the RHR, and the MS are independently associated with an elevated PWV, a surrogate marker for CVD. The strength of this association was further increased in the presence of both. These findings confirm the beneficial effects of physical fitness on attenuating the risk of CVD among older Chinese.
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