Greater Adherence to Life's Essential 8 for Cardiovascular Health Is Associated With Lower Arterial Stiffness in...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Oncology
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Cancer survivors face increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk due to cancer therapies impacting vascular function.
• Arterial stiffness is a key indicator of vascular health and a predictor of CVD.
• The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) promotes optimal cardiovascular health, but its association with arterial stiffness in cancer survivors is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between adherence to Life's Essential 8 and arterial stiffness in older adult cancer survivors.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study of 172 older adult cancer survivors (age ≥65 years).
• Cardiovascular health was assessed using the Life's Essential 8 100-point score.
• Arterial stiffness was measured using pulse wave velocity (PWV), with high stiffness defined as PWV ≥10 m/s.

Main Results:

• The average LE8 score was 72±11, with 23% of participants exhibiting high arterial stiffness.
• Moderate and high LE8 scores were associated with significantly lower odds of high arterial stiffness (OR=0.12 and OR=0.02, respectively).
• Each 10-point increase in the LE8 score correlated with a 0.43 m/s reduction in PWV (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Higher adherence to Life's Essential 8 is linked to reduced arterial stiffness in older cancer survivors.
• Findings suggest LE8 can be a valuable tool for managing cardiovascular risk in this population.
• Further prospective studies with larger cohorts are warranted to confirm these associations.