Cardiovascular health: it is never too late

This editorial refers to ‘Association of ideal cardiovascular health and life’s simple 7 metrics with incident heart failure among older men: the British Regional Heart Study’, by M. Chawla et al., https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf216.

In 2010, the American Heart Association published a new concept of cardiovascular health (CVH) and the metrics needed to determine and monitor it over time. In this concept, ideal cardiovascular health was defined as ideal health behaviour (non-smoking, body mass index < 25 kg/m2, physical activity, and nutrition in accordance with current guidelines), and ideal health factors (total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose) are defined and integrated into the concept of the so-called Life's Simple 7 score.1

The benefits of ideal CVH, as reflected in the Life's Simple 7 (LS7) score, are well documented in various population groups. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis2 evaluated the effect of CVH on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs). The results showed an inversely proportional relationship between the level of CVH and the incidence and mortality from CVDs and CMDs. Compared with individuals with poor CVH, those with ideal CVH had significantly lower risk of a broad range of CVDs and CMDs, including 40% lower risk of atrial fibrillation up to 82% lower risk of myocardial infarction. Intermediate CVH was associated with a 27–57% lower risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease as compared with poor CVH. The authors conclude that promoting healthy lifestyle could possibly lead to prevention of CVDs and CMDs.2