DALAS – A staggering 80 percent of the U.S. population has either low or moderate cardiovascular health – meaning that only one in five people has a heart in excellent shape, according to a new study.
Using the American Heart Association’s new Life’s Essential 8 checklist, the researchers found that only 19.6 percent of the country had a cardiovascular health score that the checklist considered “high.”
Meanwhile, a study of more than 23,400 adults and children in the United States found that 62.5% had only “moderate” cardiovascular health and 17.9% had “low” cardiovascular health.
How does the checklist measure heart health?
Life’s Essential 8 looks at eight key components that combine to give someone perfect heart and brain health. Measures include diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep duration, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure. The new scale is an upgrade from Life’s Simple 7 of the American Heart Association, which does not measure sleep health.
Using a scale from 0 to 100, a score of 100 means that someone has the highest or healthiest score for cardiovascular health. Results below 50 fall in the “low” range of cardiovascular health, while scores between 50 and 79 indicate “moderate” heart health. Anything over 80 indicates “high” cardiovascular health. According to a new study, less than 20 percent of Americans have reached this health standard.
“These data represent a first look at the cardiovascular health of the U.S. population using AHA’s new Life’s Essential 8 assessment algorithm,” said study lead author Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association. press release. “In general, the cardiovascular health of the US population is suboptimal and we see important differences between age and socio-demographic groups. Analyzes like this can help politicians, communities, clinicians and the public understand the possibilities for intervention to improve and maintain optimal cardiovascular health throughout life. “
The findings come from health information from studies by the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Survey completed between 2013 and 2018. The study included approximately 9,900 children under the age of 19.
Americans are stuck in the 1960s
Overall, the average American adult scored only 64.7 on the Life’s Essential 8 checklist. Children received 65.5 out of 100. For children, the checklist adjusted the results to match age differences in diet, physical activity, and BMI.
Women scored slightly higher (67) than older men (62.5), with both groups posting their lowest scores in the diet, exercise and BMI categories. Overall, scores also fell lower as adults got older.
When looking at the differences between racial and ethnic groups in the country, the study found that Asian Americans have the best average scores for cardiovascular health. Non-Hispanic whites had the second highest health score, with Hispanics (excluding Mexicans), Mexicans, and non-Hispanic blacks following in that order.
In this regard, the results of the children’s diet were on average only 40.6 and a minimum of 0.45 percent of the entire study group achieved a perfect result of 100.
The findings are published in Circulation, the leading peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
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