Life's Simple 7 and Incident Hypertension: The REGARDS Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Hypertension Research
• Public Health

Background:

• The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metric assesses cardiovascular health through behaviors and factors.
• The link between cardiovascular health and new-onset hypertension requires clarification, especially with a lowered hypertension threshold.
• Research is needed to determine if improved cardiovascular health reduces hypertension risk in diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between the LS7 metric and incident hypertension in Black and White adults.
• To assess cardiovascular health's role in hypertension development using a 130/80 mm Hg threshold.
• To investigate hypertension risk in a multirace cohort with updated clinical guidelines.

Main Methods:

• The study analyzed data from the REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Disparities in Stroke) study.
• Participants (n=2930) were free of hypertension at baseline and followed for a median of 9 years.
• Hypertension was defined as blood pressure ≥130/80 mm Hg or antihypertensive medication use; LS7 scores were calculated (0-14 points).

Main Results:

• A total of 42% of participants developed hypertension during follow-up.
• Higher LS7 scores indicated better cardiovascular health.
• Each 1-point increase in LS7 score was associated with a 6% lower risk of incident hypertension (RR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96).

Conclusions:

• Better cardiovascular health, as measured by the LS7 score, is associated with a reduced risk of developing hypertension.
• This association holds true even with the updated 130/80 mm Hg hypertension threshold.
• The findings emphasize the importance of cardiovascular health in preventing hypertension across racial groups.