Page 48 - Harnett Life Summer 2022

8 Essentials for a

Healthy Heart

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

“The idea of optimal cardiovascular health is important be-
cause it gives people positive goals to work toward at any stage
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in of life,” said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., EAHA,
the United States and globally. Studies throughout the past two president of the American Heart Association and chair of the
decades indicate more than 80% of all cardiovascular events department of preventive medicine at Northwestern Univer-
may be prevented by a healthy lifestyle and management of sity’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “We felt it was the right
risk factors. time to conduct a comprehensive review of the latest research
to refine the existing metrics and consider any new metrics that
To help Americans measure their cardiovascular health and add value to assessing cardiovascular health for all people.”
make meaningful lifestyle changes, the American Heart Asso-
ciation introduced Life’s Essential 8, a checklist that explains Start making positive changes to improve your heart and brain
eight habits and health measures that affect heart and brain health with these eight essential steps:
health and overall well-being.
Eat Better
The checklist incorporates knowledge gained from more than The checklist offers a simple questionnaire to assess your eat-
2,400 scientific papers on cardiovascular health published ing pattern. A heart-healthy diet encompasses a high intake
since it was originally introduced as Life’s Simple 7 more than of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes; whole grains and fat-
a decade ago. It has been expanded to apply to anyone age 2 free and low-fat dairy; lean protein; and low intake of sodium,
and older, and now includes sleep as the eighth cardiovascular red and processed meats and sweetened foods and drinks. Eat
health component, reflecting findings that healthy sleep is es- whole foods and rely on healthy non-tropical oils (like olive
sential for optimal heart and brain health. and canola) for cooking.
Page 48 Harnett Life ~ Summer 2022