On average, you can live nearly 9 years longer! American Heart Association: 8 "heart-protecting measures" can help extend the average life span
Academic circles generally support the idea that “healthy living” has the opportunity to extend life expectancy. As for what steps you should take to stay healthy? Exactly how long can life span be extended? “Circulation”, a publication affiliated with the American Heart Association (AHA), gave the answer in a newly published study: If individuals follow 8 related measures that are beneficial to health, their life expectancy can be extended by about 8.9 years on average.
Heart health = increased life expectancy? 8 lifestyle styles to achieve longer life
The research was initiated by Tulane University and the University of California. The research team analyzed health data from 23,002 subjects aged 20-79 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and used 8 healthy lifestyle behaviors (Life’s Essential 8, LE8) promulgated by the American Heart Association as Scoring basis to clarify the association between LE8 scores and increased life expectancy. The 8 healthy lifestyle behaviors include:
Eat healthily. Aim for an overall healthy eating pattern that includes eating whole foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and cooking with non-tropical oils like olive and canola.
Exercise moderately. Adults should engage in 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
Quit smoking. Use of inhaled nicotine products, including traditional cigarettes, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, etc., is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with approximately one-third of smokers dying from heart disease.
Healthy sleep. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Getting enough sleep improves brain function and reduces the risk of chronic disease.
A healthy weight. Maintain a healthy weight throughout your life. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and body fat percentage are the basis for judging whether an individual’s weight is normal.
Lower cholesterol. High levels of “bad cholesterol” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. LDL cholesterol can be measured without prior fasting, and the calculation is a better indicator of cardiovascular health than total cholesterol numbers.
Control blood sugar. High blood sugar can damage your heart, kidneys, eyes and nervous system health. By monitoring glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), it helps to understand the disease control status of patients with diabetes and prediabetes.
Control blood pressure. Keeping blood pressure within an acceptable range can keep your body healthier. The systolic blood pressure of high blood pressure is defined as 130-139 mmHg, and the diastolic blood pressure is 80-89 mmHg. In terms of systolic blood pressure, it is recommended that the blood pressure value be lower than 120/80 mmHg.
No smoking, exercise, and sleep are indispensable! AHA: Maintaining cardiovascular health can “live an average of 8.9 more years”
Through the above 8 lifestyles, the research team was able to evaluate the subjects’ heart health scores, including their overall cardiovascular health scores. During nearly 8 years of follow-up, the research team found that tobacco use, physical activity, sleep and blood sugar levels had the most significant impact on life expectancy:
Non-smokers live 7.4 years longer than heavy smokers.
Subjects who participated in the most physical activity lived 4.6 years longer than those who participated in the least activity.
People who sleep 7-9 hours a night live 5 years longer than those who sleep too much or too little.
People who score higher in maintaining blood sugar levels live nearly 5 years longer than those who do not maintain blood sugar levels well.
Overall, participants with the highest cardiovascular health scores lived 8.9 years longer than those with the lowest average scores. In addition, 42.6% of the increase in life expectancy after the age of 50 is attributed to the reduction in heart disease-related deaths. However, nearly 58% of the subjects gained increased lifespan from good cardiovascular health independent of heart disease.
“Research results show that maintaining good cardiovascular health is indeed related to a longer life.” Nathan Wong, author of this study and director of the Heart Disease Prevention Program at the University of California, Irvine, said that changing one’s lifestyle can help lead a longer life. Longer, healthier life. Wong also suggested that the public can better understand personal cardiovascular health risks through good living habits and annual health check-ups.
Source:
Life’s Essential 8 - American Heart Association
People who follow these 8 heart health metrics may live years longer
Cardiovascular Health and Life Expectancy Among Adults in the United States
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