AHA'S CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH METRICS, COPD, AND CVD



Hwa Mu Lee, M.D., University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

The American Heart Association (AHA) defined seven key metrics of cardiovascular health called “Life’s Simple 7” based on current smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, healthy diet score, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting glucose. Ideal levels of these factors are defined as nonsmoking status (or quit for more than 12 months), BMI<25 kg/m2, physical activity of at least 150 minutes moderate or 75 minutes per week vigorous, at least 4 components of a healthy diet, total cholesterol <200 mg/dl, blood pressure <120/80 mmHg and not on medication, and fasting glucose <100 mg/dl. Data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities and other prospective studies show having all such components in the ideal range to be associated with significantly lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and other measures. We have also demonstrated lung function measures of FEV1 and FVC to be positively associated and the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to be negative related with the number of ideal cardiovascular health factors, although the strong relation of age to several of the cardiovascular health measures as well as to COPD and lung function measures attenuates these relationships. Nevertheless, it is likely that maintaining ideal levels of these cardiovascular health metrics can help delay the onset or progression of COPD as is the case for CVD emphasizing the value of educating patients on these measures.