Peak Oxygen Uptake Estimation From A Moderate 1-KM Treadmill Walk in Women With Cardiovascular Disease

Women continue to be labeled as a ‘special population’ in many guidelines related to cardiovascular disease (CVD), which remains the leading cause of death in women. 1 Gender-based inequalities persist, with women being less likely to receive guideline-recommended diagnostic testing and therapies, 1 including reduced participation in cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs (CR/SP). 2,6 Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is inversely associated with mortality risk and the incidence of many chronic diseases among both men and women with and without CVD. 3 Thus, it has been suggested that CRF should be considered a clinical ‘vital sign’ that should be regularly assessed along with other established risk factors. 3 The gold standard for the assessment of CRF is the direct determination of peak oxygen uptake (VO 2peak ) through an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX). 3 However, owing to the expense, space, time, and personnel needed, practical application of CPX is not always feasible. 3 In these cases, submaximal exercise testing offers an alternative to estimate CRF (eCRF). 3, Examination of the submaximal exercise response is strongly related to the ability to perform daily activities, and several submaximal walking protocols have been developed to estimate VO 2peak through population-specific equations. 3 We have described a submaximal 1-km treadmill-walking test (1k-TWT) that is useful for the estimation of VO 2peak among clinically stable male patients with CVD. 4 The 1k-TWT has also been demonstrated to predict survival in outpatients with CVD. 5 Given the evidence that sex is one of the strongest modulators of CVD risk and CVD pathophysiology, and the fact that it impacts diagnostic testing and response to treatment, 1,9 the purpose of this study was to develop a specific prediction equation for estimating VO 2peak for female patients with CVD based on the 1k-TWT protocol.