VO2max-Based Physical Fitness Categories in a Brazilian Population with Supposed High Socioeconomic Status and without Structural Heart Disease.

Background: The most widely used data for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) referrals are from the Cooper Clinic, which uses calculated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) values.

Objective: To develop CRF values from cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) in a Brazilian population with high socioeconomic level and free of structural heart disease. VO2max testing results were compared with the Cooper Clinic and FRIEND Registry data.

Cardiorespiratory fitness data from 18,189 participants who underwent treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a Brazilian population.

Purpose: Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and mortality attributable to various cancers. It is often estimated indirectly using mathematical formulas for estimating oxygen uptake. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, especially oxygen uptake, represents the "gold standard" for assessing exercise capacity.

Comparison of maximal heart rate using the prediction equations proposed by Karvonen and Tanaka.

Background: Equations for predicting maximal heart rate (HRmax) are widely used in exercise testing and for training prescription, but their efficacy remains controversial in the literature.

Objective: To compare maximal heart rate during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) using the prediction equations developed by Karvonen and Tanaka.

Methods: Of the 24,120 maximal treadmill graded exercise tests stored in the CEMAFE database from 1994 to 2006, 2047 HRmax values were analyzed, 1091 of which were from male and 956 from female sedentary subjects.

Incremental shuttle and six-minute walking tests in the assessment of functional capacity in chronic heart failure.

Background: The incremental shuttle test presents some theoretical advantages over the six-minute walk test in chronic heart failure (CHF), including better standardization and less dependency on collaboration.

Objectives: The present study evaluated test-retest repeatability, test accuracy in predicting a peak oxygen consumption (VO(2)) of 14 mL/kg/min or less, as well as the prognostic value of both walking tests in stable CHF patients.

Methods: Sixty-three patients (44 men; New York Heart Association functional class II to IV) underwent an incremental treadmill exercise test and, on another day, the walk test in duplicate.

Coronary artery disease in asymptomatic type-2 diabetic women. A comparative study between exercise test, cardiopulmonary exercise test, and dipyridamole myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in the identification of ischemia.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among diabetic individuals. Myocardial ischemia is frequently asymptomatic, thus leading to a late diagnosis and worse prognosis. Diabetic women are known to have a cardiovascular death risk higher than that in men.