A clinician's guide to addressing cardiovascular health based on a revised AHA framework

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide.
• Previous guidelines, such as Life's Simple 7, provided a framework for assessing cardiovascular health (CVH).

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and explain the updated American Heart Association Presidential Advisory, Life's Essential 8, which redefines cardiovascular health.
• To highlight the changes from Life's Simple 7, including the addition of sleep and refinements to other metrics.

Main Methods:

• The advisory incorporates eight key components of CVH: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep duration, body mass index (BMI), blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood glucose.
• It emphasizes a composite CVH score for consistent communication and application.
• The framework integrates social determinants of health and applies across the life spectrum.

Main Results:

• Life's Essential 8 expands on Life's Simple 7 by adding sleep duration as a critical component.
• Existing components like diet, nicotine exposure, blood lipids, and blood glucose have refined measurement definitions.
• Physical activity, BMI, and blood pressure metrics remain unchanged.

Conclusions:

• Life's Essential 8 provides a comprehensive, updated framework for measuring and improving cardiovascular health.
• The framework facilitates consistent communication among diverse stakeholders and supports early intervention from pregnancy through childhood.
• It encourages the use of digital health technologies and policy advocacy to enhance CVH and improve quality of life.