About one million Americans die from cardiovascular disease each year, but that number could be reduced by following a few key lifestyle habits, a new study finds.
In a study of more than 5,600 people, researchers from the American Heart Association found that people who eat a healthy diet, get seven to nine hours of sleep a night, don't smoke, exercise, and control their blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight have a 36% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Additionally, people with a family history of CVD had a 39 percent reduced risk of developing CVD or dying from heart or stroke, and a nearly 80 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause.
No matter your age or health history, following these eight tips can help reduce your risk, says Jiantao Ma, lead researcher and professor in the AHA's Division of Nutrition Epidemiology.
Professor Marr said: “Our findings suggest that engaging in heart-healthy behaviours and managing heart disease risk factors is associated with a younger biological age, lower risk of heart disease and stroke, and lower risk of death from heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality, regardless of chronological age.”
The researchers investigated how heart-healthy lifestyle choices affect the biological aging of the body and its cells, which contributes to a person's overall health.
Many factors influence how the body ages, including genetics, diet, exercise, and the environment. These factors affect a person's DNA and leave behind “markers.”
Scientists can read these markers and An indicator of your chances of developing a particular health condition, such as cancer or heart disease.
For the study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed the DNA of 5,680 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 and has followed individuals and their families to understand their risk of developing CVD.
The average age of the subjects was 56 years.
Because the dataset was so old, the researchers had detailed information about participants' family histories, allowing them to know whether they were genetically predisposed to developing heart disease.
Each participant was then given a lifestyle score from 1 to 100 based on the AHA's 8 Life Essentials, with 100 being the highest score and meaning full compliance with all eight guidelines.
First, individuals' diets were assessed based on how well they conformed to the AHA Dietary Plan for the Prevention of Hypertension.
Eat more vegetables and avoid fatty meats, sugary drinks, and salty foods.
Participants' sleep quality was then assessed: to get a good score, participants needed between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.
The researchers also gave higher ratings to participants who exercised regularly and didn't smoke.
The researchers then assessed the participants on physiological measures: those with higher scores had lower BMIs, lower cholesterol levels, and more stable blood sugar and blood pressure.
After looking at lifestyle habits, family history and changes in DNA, the researchers found that people with a higher lifestyle score were 36% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those with a lower lifestyle score.
Those genetically predisposed to developing CVD experienced a 78 percent reduction in overall mortality.
The results also showed that people with higher scores were 39 percent less likely to develop heart disease in the first place.
What's more, the biological age of people living a healthy lifestyle was found to be significantly younger than their actual chronological age, suggesting that leading a heart-healthy lifestyle helped to turn back their genetic clocks, Ma wrote.
“Our message is that everyone should be mindful of the eight health factors that lead to heart disease and stroke,” he added.
One limitation of the study, the researchers point out, is that they only measured participants' DNA at one point in their lives.
But previous studies have shown that a person's genetic markers can fluctuate widely over short periods of time, meaning it can be hard to get an accurate reading from just one sample.
