TABLE 1.

Sample characteristics.

	Without cardiovascular disease (N = 360)		With cardiovascular disease (N = 99)
	Male (N = 187)	Female (N = 173)	Male (N = 71)	Female (N = 28)
Age [years]	49.0 ± 18.3	51.2 ± 19.0	68.5 ± 12.5*	72.0 ± 13.4*
$\stackrel{.}{\text{V}}$O2peak [ml/min/kg]	40.5 ± 9.5	32.4 ± 8.0	24.9 ± 8.5*	19.4 ± 5.9*
BMI [kg/m2]	24.0 ± 2.4	22.6 ± 2.5	27.3 ± 3.5*	25.5 ± 3.3*
MAP [mmHg]	94.9 ± 8.2	91.1 ± 9.5	97.3 ± 10.8	97.7 ± 10.7*
HbA1c [%]	5.2 ± 0.3	5.2 ± 0.4	5.8 ± 0.6*	5.6 ± 0.4*
Triglycerides [mg/dL]	131.3 ± 71.5	99.8 ± 48.9	125.8 ± 73.1	140.5 ± 88.8*
LDL-cholesterol [mg/dL]	118.2 ± 25.9	123.6 ± 29.2	101.4 ± 31.4*	123.6 ± 31.1
hs-CrP [mg/L]	1.8 ± 4.1	1.9 ± 3.7	3.0 ± 3.8*	2.5 ± 2.0
Creatinine [mg/L]	0.9 ± 0.1	1.3 ± 0.8	1.1 ± 0.4*	0.8 ± 0.2
NT-pro-BNP [pg/mL]	77.9 ± 75.1	128.5 ± 96.1	468.1 ± 667.3*	564.8 ± 829.5*
FMD [%]	6.6 ± 4.0	7.8 ± 4.3	4.6 ± 3.2*	4.3 ± 3.5*
L-FMC [%]	−0.6 ± 2.8	−0.7 ± 3.1	−0.3 ± 2.0	−1.2 ± 3.0
Pre-cuff-infl. diam. [mm]	4.2 ± 0.5	3.4 ± 0.4	4.4 ± 0.6	3.7 ± 0.6*
Resting heart rate [bpm]	57.1 ± 9.2	58.7 ± 8.6	58.4 ± 8.9	61.5 ± 9.8

$\stackrel{.}{V}$O₂peak = peak oxygen consumption; BMI = Body mass index; MAP = Mean arterial pressure; HbA1c = glycated hemoglobin; LDL-cholesterol = Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; hs-CrP = high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; NT-pro-BNP = n-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide; FMD = flow-mediated vasodilation; L-FMC = low flow-mediated vasoconstriction; Pre-cuff-infl. diam. = pre-cuff-inflation diameter; *significantly different from “without cardiovascular disease” (independent student’s t-test, significance level p = 0.05).