Clinical Exercise Physiology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA Cardiovascular disease-related (CVD) mortality with older age is in part attributable to altered vascular hemodynamics including increased central and peripheral blood pressure (BP) and augmentation index (AIx). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is inversely associated with CVD mortality independent of traditional risk factors. It is unknown, however, if CRF is inversely related to vascular hemodynamics. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between CRF and vascular hemodynamics in an apparently healthy middle-aged and older adult population. METHODS: Apparently healthy males and females (N=101; 54 M, 47 F; Age: 63.5 ± 8.5) from the Ball State Adult Fitness Longitudinal Lifestyle Study (BALL ST) were studied. All participants underwent assessment of vascular hemodynamics, which included non-invasive central and peripheral BP, central and peripheral pulse pressure (systolic minus diastolic BP), AIx (%), AIx normalized to HR 75 (AIx% HR75) and directly-measured CRF (VO2max ; ml/kg/min). Age- and sex-adjusted CRF percentiles where calculated based on the Fitness Registry and Importance of Exercise National Database (FRIEND). Data were analyzed via Pearson correlations. RESULTS: CRF was inversely related with central systolic BP (cSBP, r = -0.330), central pulse pressure (cPP, r = -0.255), AIx %( r = -0.366), AIx% HR75 (r = -0.474), brachial systolic BP (bSBP, r = -0.227), and brachial pulse pressure (bPP, r = -0.172) (all, p<0.05). cSBP (r = -0.412), cPP (r = -0.249), AIx % (r = -0.202), AIx % HR75 (r = -0.292), and bSBP (r = -0.320) were correlated with FRIEND percentiles (all, p<0.05) whereas bPP (r = -0.131) was not (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that more ideal measures of vascular hemodynamics are correlated with higher CRF in middle-age and older adults. These data support the notion that vascular hemodynamics may be a potential modulator in the inverse relationship between CRF and CVD in apparently healthy adults.