Heart HealthWomen Gain Far More Cardiovascular Protection Per Watt of Fitness After Heart Attack
A large Swedish registry study of nearly 16,000 heart attack survivors found that higher exercise capacity — measured by a bicycle ergometer test done 2–8 weeks after hospital discharge — strongly predicted survival and lower risk of future cardiovascular events. For every 10-Watt increase in peak output, men saw an 18% lower death risk and women a 33% lower death risk. The risk of a second heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death dropped 8% per 10 Watts in men and 18% in women. Crucially, the protective association was linear for women — meaning fitness benefits kept accumulating at higher levels — while men showed diminishing returns for cardiovascular events at higher fitness levels. These findings position routine exercise testing as a powerful risk-stratification tool, especially for women after MI.
