• Soohyung Park, Byambakhand Battumur, Seo Yeon Yoon, Yohan Lee, Se Hyun Park, Kyuho Lee, Seungmin Back, Jieun Lee, Dong Oh Kang, Jah Yeon Choi, Seung-Young Roh, Jin Oh Na, Cheol Ung Choi, Jin Won Kim, Seung-Woon Rha, Chang Gyu Park, and Eung Ju Kim.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2023 Jun 12; 38 (23): e179e179.

BackgroundExercise capacity is known to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality. However, most previous studies were based on Western populations. Further study is warranted for Asian patients according to ethnic or national standards. We aimed to compare prognostic values of Korean and Western nomograms for exercise capacity in Korean patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled 1,178 patients (62 ± 11 years; 78% male) between June 2015 and May 2020, who were referred for cardiopulmonary exercise testing in our cardiac rehabilitation program. The median follow-up period was 1.6 years. Exercise capacity was measured in metabolic equivalents by direct gas exchange method during the treadmill test. The nomogram for exercise capacity from healthy Korean individuals and a previous landmark Western study was used to determine the percentage of predicted exercise capacity. The primary endpoint was the composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; all-cause death, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, stroke and hospitalization for heart failure).ResultsA multivariate analysis showed that the risk of primary endpoint was more than double (hazard ratio [HR], 2.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-4.40) in the patients with lower exercise capacity (< 85% of predicted) by Korean nomogram. The lower exercise capacity was one of the strong independent predictors along with left ventricular ejection fraction, age, and level of hemoglobin. However, the lower exercise capacity by Western nomogram could not predict the primary endpoint (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.85-2.10).ConclusionKorean patients with CVD with lower exercise capacity have higher risk of MACE. Considering inter-ethnic differences in cardiorespiratory fitness, the Korean nomogram provides more suitable reference values than the Western nomogram to determine lower exercise capacity and predict cardiovascular events in Korean patients with CVD.© 2023 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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