Abstract 12084: Premorbid Physical Activity and Prognosis After Incident Myocardial Infarction: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is associated with a reduced risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease in the general population. However, it is unclear whether PA level in midlife impacts prognosis after myocardial infarction (MI) in later life. Methods: In 1,115 ARIC participants with incident non-fatal MI during ARIC follow-up (mean age 73 [SD 9] years at MI, 54% men, 21% Black), PA prior to incident MI (premorbid PA) was evaluated at visit 1 (1987-89) and visit 3 (1993-95) using a modified Baecke questionnaire; we studied the cumulative PA index scores across these two visits. Total and domain-specific PA (sport, leisure time, and work PA) were analyzed for their associations with mortality, recurrent MI, stroke, and heart failure after MI using multivariable Cox models. Elapsed time between visit 3 and incident MI was on average 11.9 (SD 6.9) years. Results: During a median follow-up of 2.0 [IQI 0.03-8.0] years after incident MI, 914 participants (82%) developed a composite outcome. The 8-year cumulative incidence of composite outcome was lower in the highest tertile of premorbid total PA than the lowest tertile (62% vs. 72%, respectively) ( Figure ). When adjusting for MI risk factors, the association was not significant. However, for individual outcomes, higher premorbid total PA was associated with a lower risk of recurrent MI (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.66 [95% CI 0.45, 0.96] for the highest vs. lowest tertile). Results were similar for sport and work PA but not leisure time PA. When we focused on short-term prognosis within one year after MI, both higher total PA and sport PA were associated with lower mortality (HR 0.62 [95% CI 0.43, 0.90] and 0.62 [0.44, 0.89], respectively). Conclusions: Greater premorbid PA was associated with better prognosis after MI occurrence, both short-term and long-term post-MI. Our results demonstrate additional prognostic advantage of PA beyond reducing the risk of incident MI.