Prospective Association of Physical Activity and Heart Failure Hospitalizations Among Black Adults With Normal Ejection Fraction: The Jackson Heart Study

BackgroundGiven high rates of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, black persons are at risk to develop heart failure. The association of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and heart failure in black adults is underresearched. The purpose of this study was to explore whether greater MVPA was associated with lower risk of heart failure hospitalizations (HFHs) among black adults with normal ejection fractions. Methods and ResultsWe performed a prospective analysis of 4066 black adults who participated in the Jackson Heart Study and who had physical activity measured, had normal ejection fraction on 2‐dimensional echocardiograms, and were followed for 7 years for incident HFH. We used Cox proportional regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease and examined effect modification by sex and body mass index. Of the elig...