AHA finds 80% of US population has low to moderate heart health, pegs sleep as solution

30 Jun 2022 --- Sleep quantity and quality impact heart and brain health, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Considering this, 80% of the US population has low to moderate cardiovascular health, with only one in five people having optimum heart health.

The My Life Check tool from the AHA uses the Life’s Essential 8 metrics to calculate a cardiovascular health score based on the following eight factors: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, amount of sleep, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure.

The tool is an improved version of the scientifically validated Life’s Simple 7 method, which excluded sleep health.

“The new metric of sleep duration reflects the latest research findings: sleep impacts overall health, and people who have healthier sleep patterns manage health factors such as weight, blood pressure or risk for Type 2 diabetes more effectively,” says Donald Lloyd-Jones, lead researcher and president of AHA.

“In addition, advances in measuring sleep, such as with wearable devices, now offer people the ability to reliably and routinely monitor their sleep habits at home.”

AHA pegs quality sleep as essential for cardiovascular and brain health. According to the Association’s 2022 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics update, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US and globally. In the US, approximately 121.5 million people have excessive blood pressure, 100 million are obese and more than 28 million have Type 2 diabetes.

Utilizing AHA’s tool for heart health
More than 13,500 adults – aged 20 to 79 – and approximately 9,900 children participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys between 2013 and 2018.

The overall cardiovascular health of the US population is significantly below ideal, with 80% of adults scoring at a low or moderate level, according to the first study using Life’s Essential 8 as the measure for cardiovascular health.

“This data represents the first look at the cardiovascular health of the US population using the AHA’s new Life’s Essential 8 scoring algorithm,” notes Lloyd-Jones.

“Overall, the cardiovascular health of the US population is suboptimal. Analyses like this can help policymakers, communities, clinicians and the public to understand the opportunities to intervene to improve and maintain optimal cardiovascular health across the life course.”

When using Life’s Essential 8’s measurement, the maximum score for cardiovascular health is 100. Cardiovascular health is deemed to be “poor” if the overall score is less than 50, “moderate” if the overall score is 50 to 79, and “high” if the overall score is 80 or higher.

Research studies indicate that a healthy lifestyle may prevent more than 80% of all cardiovascular events.For US adults and children, the average cardiovascular health score based on Life’s Essential 8 was 64.7 and 65.5, respectively. To add, only 0.45% of respondents scored 100.

Among adults, 19.6% had excellent cardiovascular health, 62.5% had fair health and 17.9% had poor health. Compared to men, who scored 62.5, adult women had an average cardiovascular health score of 67.

In-depth health assessment
AHA’s Life’s Essential 8 assesses diet based on daily intake of elements in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating pattern. The DASH-style diet score has eight components: high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy, low sodium intake, red and processed meats and sweetened drinks.

In the second study, sleep duration was also accessed and AHA reveals sleep duration is associated with cardiovascular health. Measured by average hours of sleep per night, adults’ ideal level is 7 to 9 hours daily. Ideal daily sleep ranges for children are 10 to 16 hours per 24 hours for ages five and younger; 9 to 12 hours for ages six to 12 years; and 8 to 10 hours for ages 13 to 18.

Life’s Essential 8 also takes body mass index into account. The researchers note that body mass index (BMI) is an imperfect metric, yet it is easily calculated and widely available; therefore, BMI remains a reasonable gauge to assess weight categories that may lead to health problems. BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is associated with the highest levels of cardiovascular health.

The research group notes that BMI ranges and the subsequent health risks may differ among people from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds or ancestry.

This aligns with the World Health Organization’s recommendations to adjust BMI ranges for people of Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry because recent evidence indicates their risk of CVD or Type 2 diabetes is higher at a lower BMI.

By Nicole Kerr