People With Good Heart Health in Middle Age Live Longer

People with better heart health in middle age live longer and have fewer instances of all kinds of chronic illness, according to a new study reported by the American Heart Association. The 40-year study is the first to examine the impact of cardiovascular health in middle age in relation to serious illnesses later in life.

Researchers started with data from a Chicago Health Association study conducted in the late 60s and early 70s. They followed participants on an ongoing basis using Medicare records. The researchers determined which participants had favorable health factors. “Healthy” participants were non-smokers, free of diabetes, normal weight, and had good blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The researchers then compared those participants to those with elevated or high-risk factors.

Compared to those with two or more high-risk factors, the researchers found that people with favorable factors:

-lived an average of 3.9 years longer;
-survived 4.5 years longer before developing a chronic illness;
-spent 22 percent fewer of their senior years with a chronic illness;
-saved roughly $18,000 in Medicare costs.

“Good cardiovascular health in middle age delays the onset of many types of disease so that people live longer and spend a much smaller proportion of their lives with chronic illness,” said Norrina Allen, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Allen noted that only 5.6 percent of the participants had all favorable heart health factors at the start of the study. Their mean age then was 44.

“Health professionals need to let young adults know that maintaining or adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle makes it more likely that you’ll live longer and still be healthy enough to do the things you love to do when you’re older,” Allen said.

“We need to think about cardiovascular health at all stages of life,” she continued. “The small proportion of participants with favorable levels in their 40s is a call for all of us to maintain or adopt healthy lifestyles earlier in life.”

The AHA has created My Life Check to inform the public about seven heart health measures called Life’s Simple 7. It’s a guide to help people recognize seven modifiable healthy heart factors: cigarette smoking, diet, body mass index, physical activity, blood pressure, and cholesterol and glucose levels.