[Cardiorespiratory fitness and arterial stiffness in sedentary and not sedentary hypertensive workers].

In hypertensive subjects, arterial stiffness and arterial wave early reflection are thought to be the major factor limiting cardiac reserve and exercise capacity. Aortic augmentation index (AIx) is a measure of arterial wave reflection and stiffness, and has been associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness. We investigated the role of physical activity at work and its effect on such association. 25 hypertensive middle-aged workers, without history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal failure and inflammatory diseases, were studied. Our study confirms that AIx provides information for the prediction of VO2 peak, being also gained with a non-invasive and practical test. Inside the two groups of sedentary and non sedentary workers, the relation between AIx and VO2 peak is still significant; whereas the non sedentary group showed a worse cardiorespiratory fitness without significantly differences in arterial stiffness.