Doctors have long endorsed a handful of practices that protect against heart disease, the leading killer of adults in America. A new review shows that following this heart-healthy guidance also benefits the body in other surprising ways, including lowering the risk of cancer and dementia, improving mobility and even increasing the chances of a healthy pregnancy.
Researchers examined a decade of studies on “Life’s Simple 7,” a set of guidelines established in 2010 by the American Heart Association that reduce one’s chances of developing and dying of heart disease.
The guidelines include eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising, abstaining from smoking, and maintaining body weight, blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure within healthy limits. (Getting good sleep was added in 2022, when the list became “Life’s Essential 8.”)
The new review underscored how the measures collectively staved off cardiovascular disease, and also found that their positive health effects extended beyond the heart, said Liliana Aguayo, a research assistant professor of nursing at Emory University and the lead author of the paper. Following the guidance may prevent a number of chronic diseases, as well as help maintain mobility, vision, hearing and other functions.
The benefits begin at the cellular level by reducing inflammation and most likely affecting other processes of aging, too, said Anthony Molina, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who specializes in the science of aging. Heart disease and many other chronic diseases are primarily diseases of aging, but you can start accumulating risk with poor cardiovascular health earlier in life.
“From the top of your head to the tip of your toenail, pretty much everything is going to be better if you optimize your cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, a professor of cardiology at Boston University who led the development of the original framework and worked on the new review.
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