Cardiovascular Health Metrics in Patients Hospitalized with an Acute Coronary Syndrome
Eric Y Ding1, Jordy Mehawej2, Hawa Abu3
1Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
Insights
Patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome often have poor cardiovascular health, with very few achieving ideal Life
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metric is crucial for preventing cardiovascular disease.
- Prevalence and distribution of LS7 metrics in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence and distribution of Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metrics in patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
- To analyze sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with cardiovascular health scores in ACS patients.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from 1110 patients hospitalized for ACS across 6 hospitals (2011-2013).
- LS7 assessed self-reported smoking, diet, physical activity, and abstracted BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels.
- Scores categorized as poor (0), intermediate (1), or ideal (2), with a total score (0-14) divided into tertiles.
Main Results:
- ACS patients exhibited poor cardiovascular health, with a mean LS7 score of 6.2 (range 0-12).
- Higher scores correlated with older age, white ethnicity, fewer comorbidities, and better psychosocial well-being.
- A significant majority (one-third) had only one ideal LS7 factor; less than 1% had five, and none had more than five.
Conclusions:
- Patients with ACS demonstrate suboptimal cardiovascular health based on LS7 metrics.
- Significant differences in sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors exist across cardiovascular health groups.
- Findings suggest targeted interventions are needed to improve cardiovascular health and reduce disease risk in ACS patients.
Background:
The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) is a guiding metric for primordial/primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the prevalence and distribution of LS7 metrics in patients with an acute coronary syndrome at the time of hospitalization.
Methods:
Data were obtained from patients hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome at 6 hospitals in Central Massachusetts and Georgia (2011-2013). The LS7 assessed patient's smoking, diet, and physical activity based on self-reported measures, and patients' body mass index, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol and glucose levels were abstracted from medical records. All items were operationalized into 3 categories: poor (0), intermediate (1), or ideal (2). A total summary cardiovascular health score (0-14) was obtained and categorized into tertiles (0-5, 6-7, and 8-14).
Results:
The average age of study participants (n = 1110) was 59.6 years and 35% were women. Cardiovascular health scores ranged from 0-12 (mean = 6.2). Patients with higher scores were older, white, had lower burden of comorbidities, had fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, better quality of life, more social support, and greater healthcare activation. One-third of patients had only 1 ideal cardiovascular health measure, less than 1% had 5, and no participant had more than 5 ideal factors.
Conclusions:
Our results indicate that patients with acute coronary syndrome have poor cardiovascular health. Sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics differed across cardiovascular health groups. These findings highlight potential areas for educational and therapeutic interventions to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and promote cardiovascular health in adult men and women.
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