• Timothy R Wessel, Christopher B Arant, Marian B Olson, B Delia Johnson, Steven E Reis, Barry L Sharaf, Leslee J Shaw, Eileen Handberg, George Sopko, Sheryl F Kelsey, Carl J Pepine, and Noel Bairey Merz.
• Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610-0277, USA. twessel@ufl.edu
• JAMA. 2004 Sep 8; 292 (10): 1179-87.

ContextIndividual contributions of obesity and physical fitness (physical activity and functional capacity) to risk of coronary heart disease in women remain unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate the relationships of measures of obesity (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio) and physical fitness (self-reported Duke Activity Status Index [DASI] and Postmenopausal Estrogen-Progestin Intervention questionnaire [PEPI-Q] scores) with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, angiographic CAD, and adverse cardiovascular (CV) events in women evaluated for suspected myocardial ischemia.Design, Setting, And ParticipantsThe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) is a multicenter prospective cohort study. From 1996-2000, 936 women were enrolled at 4 US academic medical centers at the time of clinically indicated coronary angiography and then assessed (mean follow-up, 3.9 [SD, 1.8] years) for adverse outcomes.Main Outcome MeasuresPrevalence of obstructive CAD (any angiographic stenosis >or=50%) and incidence of adverse CV events (all-cause death or hospitalization for nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure, unstable angina, or other vascular events) during follow-up.ResultsOf 906 women (mean age, 58 [SD, 12] years) with complete data, 19% were of nonwhite race, 76% were overweight (BMI >or=25), 70% had low functional capacity (DASI scores <25, equivalent to ConclusionsAmong women undergoing coronary angiography for suspected ischemia, higher self-reported physical fitness scores were independently associated with fewer CAD risk factors, less angiographic CAD, and lower risk for adverse CV events. Measures of obesity were not independently associated with these outcomes.

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