You’ll be able to control your blood pressure, find a new study, by improving your score on a metric of seven heart-healthy behaviors – reducing your risk of hypertension %% with age.
Plante and his colleagues followed about 3,000 middle-aged black and white adults without high blood pressure for nine years. Adults were part of a longitudinal study called the causes of geographical and gender differences in stroke, also known as regards.
At the end of nine years, the study found that a one-point increase in each of the seven healthy lifestyle measures recommended by the American Heart Association was associated with a 6% lower risk of high blood pressure.
Life easier 7
- Keeping your weight at a healthy level between 18.5 and 24.9 by body mass index (BMI)
- Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes a week of moderate and vigorous combo or vigor intensity.
- A healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in salt, fat and sugar
- Quit smoking (or never start)
The AAHA tool then folds into three additional health factors for total metrics:
- Current blood pressure level – hopefully below 120/80, which is normal, or 130/80, which is considered elevated but not hypertensive
- Cholesterol levels today are calculated based on the overall risk associated with health metrics such as blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes status, and diabetes status. Other factors. The ‘actual’ current threshold is an LDL of 190 mg / dL, as the upper end of what is tolerated in people without previous cardiovascular disease, Plant wrote via email.
- Fasting blood sugar levels at a rate of 100 milligrams per milliliter or below, which is considered normal
Each of the seven components has a score of weak (zero point), intermediate (one point) and ideal (two points), Plant told CNN.
“By adding the points for each of the seven components of the LS7 metric, we get the LS7 total score, which ranges from 0 to 14. The higher the score, the better the cardiovascular health of the ideal person.”
Achieving one of these seven goals is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure – success on each additional behavior or measurement should be less risky.
“More people with LS7 scores who have ideal cardiovascular health are less likely to develop high blood pressure after 10 years when compared to individuals with lower LS7 scores,” Plant said. “A change in the seven issues would be a really great change, showing a huge improvement in cardiovascular health.”
Another good feature of the program, Plante said, is that people can make the changes they experience to add to their health.
“We recommend phased health improvements and lifestyle changes for patients,” Plant said. “For example, patients may not be acceptable to quit smoking today; however, if they are receptive to more exercise today, it would be a one-point LS7 score improvement.”
Studies can only show the association between heart-healthy behaviors and lower risk of hypertension, so the next step is to conduct a randomized clinical trial to confirm the findings. Meanwhile, AAHA hopes that Americans will focus on “Simple 7” at an early age, so that they are less likely to develop high blood pressure later.
“If we can reach younger and middle-aged people with this type of lifestyle assessment, we will focus on strong improvements in overall health,” said Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones said. AAHA President-elect and part of the group that developed the Easy 7 Scale and Criteria of Life.
The need for prevention is greatest among black Americans, as they have “the highest rate of high blood pressure in any group in the world and the condition develops at a younger age and with greater severity,” the statement said.
“These findings support existing clinical practice recommendations for lifestyle changes such as better eating, quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy weight, including those without high blood pressure,” Plant said.
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