Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) refers to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. Scientists and researchers use CRF to assess the functional capacity of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. These functions include ventilation, perfusion, gas exchange, vasodilation, and delivery of oxygen to the body's tissues. As these body's functions are vital to an individual's health, CRF allows observers to quantify an individual's morbidity and mortality risk as a function of cardiorespiratory health.
In 2016, the American Heart Association published an official scientific statement advocating that CRF, quantifiable as V̇O2 max/peak, be categorized as a clinical vital sign and should be routinely assessed as part of clinical practice.[1] Low levels of CRF have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality.[1][2] Some medical researchers claim that CRF is an even stronger predictor of mortality than smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or other common risk factors.[1]
Regular physical activity and exercise can improve CRF, thus decreasing risk of CVD and other conditions while improving overall health.[3][4]
- ^ a b c Ross, Robert; Blair, Steven N.; Arena, Ross; Church, Timothy S.; Després, Jean-Pierre; Franklin, Barry A.; Haskell, William L.; Kaminsky, Leonard A.; Levine, Benjamin D.; Lavie, Carl J.; Myers, Jonathan; Niebauer, Josef; Sallis, Robert; Sawada, Susumu S.; Sui, Xuemei (2016-12-13). "Importance of Assessing Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Clinical Practice: A Case for Fitness as a Clinical Vital Sign: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association". Circulation. 134 (24): e653–e699. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000461. ISSN 0009-7322. PMID 27881567. S2CID 3372949.
- ^ Kodama, Satoru (2009-05-20). "Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Quantitative Predictor of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in Healthy Men and Women: A Meta-analysis". JAMA. 301 (19): 2024–2035. doi:10.1001/jama.2009.681. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 19454641.
- ^ Foster, Charles; Hillsdon, Melvyn; Thorogood, Margaret; Kaur, Asha; Wedatilake, Thamindu (2005-01-24). Cochrane Heart Group (ed.). "Interventions for promoting physical activity". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1): CD003180. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003180.pub2. PMC 4164373. PMID 15674903.
- ^ Lee, Duck-chul; Sui, Xuemei; Artero, Enrique G.; Lee, I-Min; Church, Timothy S.; McAuley, Paul A.; Stanford, Fatima C.; Kohl, Harold W.; Blair, Steven N. (2011-12-06). "Long-Term Effects of Changes in Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Body Mass Index on All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Men: The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study". Circulation. 124 (23): 2483–2490. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.038422. ISSN 0009-7322. PMC 3238382. PMID 22144631.