Most of us know our blood pressure number. Many of us know our cholesterol. Very few can say the same about how well the heart and lungs actually hold up during a brisk walk.
A new scientific statement from the American College of Cardiology was published this month.
It places low cardiorespiratory fitness in the same risk tier as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
The statement was published October 15, 2026, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It calls on doctors to prescribe exercise as a core part of heart care, not as a side note after the real medicine.
Also read: Measles is making a comeback in America: This could be the reason
Cardiorespiratory fitness is the body's ability to deliver oxygen to working muscles during sustained activity. In plain terms, it is what climbing stairs or carrying groceries actually asks of your heart and lungs.
Jonathan Myers, PhD, chaired the writing committee. He said in the ACC's announcement that exercise is "one of the most effective therapies available for preventing and managing cardiovascular disease, yet it remains underutilized in routine care."
Fitness belongs next to blood pressure
The idea has roots. A 2016 scientific statement from the American Heart Association made a similar case.
It called cardiorespiratory fitness a potentially stronger predictor of death than smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes.
Also read: Scientists reveal how fast you need to walk to get a real workout
That earlier statement urged clinicians to treat fitness as a clinical vital sign. Nearly a decade later, the ACC backs the same case with a full exercise-prescription framework for routine cardiovascular care.
Daily movement
The ACC statement reports that about 5,000 to 7,000 daily steps are linked to lower rates of heart disease and death from any cause in many adults. The familiar 10,000-step target is no longer treated as the floor.
Standard guidance of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week still stands. The biggest gain, the authors note, comes when someone sedentary begins to move at all.
How to check your own fitness
Most people can gauge their fitness without a lab. The Rockport one-mile walk test and the Cooper 1.5-mile run test are two home-based options.
Also read: Professor warns against using paracetamol for six common ailments
Both correlate reasonably with the gold-standard VO2 max measurement, which captures the most oxygen your body can use during hard exercise. A smartwatch estimate of VO2 max can give a rough sense of where you sit, though it is less accurate than a formal test.
A good first step for anyone concerned about their numbers is a conversation with their doctor, who can advise on safe starting intensity.
The ACC statement recommends combining aerobic exercise with resistance training.
It also notes that most adults without symptoms do not need an exercise test before starting a new routine.
Also read: Just three small daily habits could cut your heart attack risk by 10%
For people already living with heart disease, the authors call for broader access to cardiac rehabilitation programs and more individualized prescriptions when formal programs are out of reach.
Also read: 8 warning signs of appendicitis most people write off as a stomach ache
This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.