Life's Simple 7 Cardiovascular Health Score in Relation to Arrhythmias on Extended Ambulatory Electrocardiographic

Yuyang Ma1, James S Floyd2, Thomas R Austin1

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Insights

The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) score, a measure of cardiovascular wellness, showed little association with subclinical cardiac arrhythmias in older adults. However, a better LS7 score suggested fewer premature ventricular contractions (PVCs).

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Preventive Medicine
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metric assesses cardiovascular wellness through 7 modifiable health behaviors.
  • The relationship between LS7 score and cardiac arrhythmias is not well-established.
  • Cardiac arrhythmias pose a significant risk to cardiovascular health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between the LS7 cardiovascular health score and subclinical cardiac arrhythmias.
  • To examine the impact of LS7 components on different types of arrhythmias.
  • To analyze these associations in a multi-ethnic cohort free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
  • LS7 score assessed between 2010-2012.
  • Cardiac arrhythmias evaluated using Zio Patch ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring (2016-2018).
  • Logistic and linear regression models used for analysis in 1,329 participants.

Main Results:

  • A favorable LS7 score was associated with fewer premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) per hour (geometric mean ratio 0.52).
  • This association was attenuated after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (0.66).
  • A favorable body mass index component of LS7 was linked to reduced ventricular ectopy.
  • No significant associations were found between total LS7 score and atrial arrhythmias.

Conclusions:

  • Little evidence supports an association between the LS7 cardiovascular health score and subclinical cardiac arrhythmias in older adults without prior cardiovascular disease.
  • A trend suggested that higher LS7 scores may correlate with fewer PVCs.
  • A healthy body mass index appears particularly important for reducing ventricular ectopy.

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