“Eight” your heart out.
Researchers believe that adopting eight healthy behaviors — identified by the American Heart Association as Life’s Essential 8 — can slow the aging process and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and death.
“Our message is that everyone should be mindful of the eight heart disease and stroke health factors: eat healthy foods; be more active; quit tobacco; get healthy sleep; manage weight; and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels,” senior study author Jiantao Ma said in a statement.
For the study, 5,682 adult subjects were given a cardiovascular health score, from 0 to 100, based on four behavioral measures (dietary intake, physical activity, hours slept per night and smoking status) and four clinical measurements (body mass index, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure).
Researchers also calculated how old the participants’ cells were — a measure otherwise known as biological age. Biological age is determined by genetics, environmental exposures and lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and sleeping habits, while chronological age refers to the number of years a person has been alive.
The study authors used the chemical modification process of DNA methylation to estimate biological age and examined each individual’s genetic tendency towards accelerated biological aging.
Participants were followed for 11 to 14 years to see if they developed cardiovascular disease or died.
The leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease includes heart failure, heart attack and stroke.
The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that those who scored higher on the eight measures were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Each 13-point increase in participants’ scores reduced their risk of developing first-time cardiovascular disease by about 35%, of dying from cardiovascular disease by 36%, and of dying from any cause by 29%.
People with rapid cell aging can offset the increased risk by managing their heart disease risk factors and adopting more heart-healthy behaviors, the researchers said.
“Our study findings tell us that no matter what your actual age is, better heart-healthy behaviors and managing heart disease risk factors were associated with a younger biological age and a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, death from heart disease and stroke and death from any cause,” Ma said.
His team plans to expand its research to include people of more diverse ethnic groups to further investigate the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and biological age.
The new findings bolster the results of a November study that showed that following the Life’s Essential 8 checklist can slow biological aging by an average of six years.
Rachel Carter is a health and wellness expert dedicated to helping readers lead healthier lives. With a background in nutrition, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being.
