IJCS | Volume 31, Nº4, July / August 2018

321 Laukkanen Is cardiorespiratory optimal point a relevant indicator of sports performance? Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2018;31(4)320-322 Editorial there are very limited opportunity or intention to have the athletes performing repeated maximal CPX during the competition season, COP could be a much easier and acceptable variable to be measured and followed along the season. 8 As previously described by the same research group, 9 the COP value increases with age and tends to be slightly higher in women, with associations being modest with other ventilation measures, suggesting an independent and potential contribution in the interpretation of the cardiorespiratory response at the CPX. Indeed, Ramos and Araujo, 9 have also showed that COP provides valuable information on the risk of all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older men and women. In healthy subjects with COP < 22, there were no deaths during the six-year follow-up suggesting that the lowest level of COP is an indicator of good prognosis. Over the years, one can consider that there is a worsening in VE and a reduction in VO 2 max, i.e. variables directly involved in the calculation of the COP. However, it is possible that the decline in pulmonary ventilation is less significant or numerically important than the reduction in VO 2 , thereby explaining the higher COP values in older individuals. 9 The study published in this issue of the Int J Cardiovasc Sci by de Souza e Silva et al. 10 is the first one to describe the COP profile in athletes, as it was based on high-level soccer players undergoing CPX on a treadmill following the ramp protocol. They found that COP values did not significantly vary within the athlete’s field position. 10 The absence of association with VO 2 max and VT indicates that COP provides additional information on the top of conventional CPX parameters; however, it remains to be determined if this COP plays a significant role in terms of soccer performance and/or to the monitoring of the training responses along the competitive season. Notwithstanding, the information provided by this novel study 10 is original and it should be confirmed by future studies including the interpretation of the various CPX variables in athletes, especially for those participanting in very long endurance sport events, such as marathon or triathlon, situations in which the athlete performs at an exercise intensity that is below VT and likely closer to COP. In conclusion, COP, defined as the lowest VE/VO 2 value in a givenminute of CPX, has been associated with all-cause mortality in a population that is frequently seen for routine clinical exercise testing. COP is a reproducible and physiologically-based CPX variable. Additionally, the availability of age- and sex-reference data in a large sample of healthy subjects is an advantage compared to other CPX indices often obtained in a maximal CPX. The recent study by de Souza e Silva et al. 10 moves COP one step ahead by suggesting its potential use among adult professional soccer players. Future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm COP relevance and if its measurement would become a possible substitute for some other relevant CPX ventilatory variables, such as VT or VO 2 max in athletes. 1. 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