5 factors greatly affect the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Heart attack and stroke, two forms of cardiovascular disease, are the leading causes of death in the US. Risk factors include a family history of cardiovascular disease, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Being overweight increases the chances of developing some of these risk factors.
Do you have optimal cardiovascular health? And he minimized the risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease in the future? Unfortunately, research suggests that not many people in the US can answer these questions.
What is cardiometabolic health?
Your cardiovascular system includes your heart, blood, and blood vessels. Cardiometabolic health is a term that refers to a combination of many of these risk factors. To estimate how many people in the US have optimal cardiometabolic health, researchers publish in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology analyzed survey results from more than 55,000 US adults. Optimal measures were defined as all five of the following:
- body mass index and waist circumference in ideal ranges
- normal blood sugar (without taking medication to lower blood sugar)
- ideal cholesterol levels (without taking cholesterol-lowering drugs)
- normal blood pressure (without taking blood pressure medication)
- no evidence of cardiovascular disease, such as a previous heart attack or stroke.
The results are in — and they’re eye-opening
The study found that, as of 2018, only 6.8% of the US population had optimal cardiometabolic health. That’s less than one in every 14 people!
The researchers also found that:
- Optimal rates of cardiometabolic health are declining. While 6.8% of the population had optimal cardiometabolic health in 2018, the rate was 7.7% in 2000 and 8.4% in 2004.
- Excess weight and high blood sugar are the biggest culprits. Between 2000 and 2018, the percentage of those with an ideal body weight fell from 34% to 24%, while those with normal blood sugar levels fell from 59% to 37%.
- Health disparities are significant. For example, poorer cardiometabolic health was more common in people who were nonwhite, male, poor, less educated, or older. This may reflect social determinants of health, such as where people live and work.
And good cardiometabolic health may be even rarer now than this study suggests: this data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is evidence that physical activity decreased and unhealthy habits increased during pandemic lockdowns.
The good news about cardiometabolic health is mixed in with the bad news
Although disappointing, the findings of this latest research offered some good news.
- Within the younger age group (20 to 34 years old), the percentage of those with optimal cardiometabolic health increased slightly, from about 14% in 2000 to about 15% in 2018.
- Overall, ideal cholesterol levels improved, going from about 30% of the population in 2000 to 37% in 2018.
- Many study participants had moderate (not poor) cardiometabolic health. They may only need minor improvements to move into the optimal set.
What can you do to improve your cardiometabolic health score?
When studies find that Americans are failing on health measures and that health disparities exist among different populations, it’s easy to get discouraged. But it can also be a personal call to action. Avoiding a heart attack or stroke will seem worth it.
Think about your cardiometabolic health. Could it be better? Small, manageable steps and a discussion with your doctor can help you move toward your goals.
- Check your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. Find out what steps can help you improve them if they’re not in an ideal range. Getting enough exercise, for example, can help all three.
- Lose excess weight through a healthy diet and adding more physical activity to your day.
- Quit smoking. Although not included in this latest study, smoking is among the most important risk factors for poor cardiometabolic health, as well as for many types of cancer and other health problems. Your health care team can help you create a plan to quit smoking, which may include medication, or you can try the free resources at smokefree.gov.
Improving cardiometabolic health can be difficult to do on your own. Talk to your doctor about what steps to take and how to best monitor your progress.
After all
Based on the findings in this research, few of us are doing enough to prevent the suffering and death caused by heart attacks, strokes and other cardiometabolic disorders, especially in certain groups. The good news is that much of the risk of cardiometabolic disease is within our control. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to it.
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
