Few Americans Meet Goals for Cardiovascular Health

Healthy behaviors are significantly associated with decreased mortality, but recent decades have seen little progress toward improving those behaviors.

Cardiovascular disease remains the number-one killer in the U.S. Therefore, the American Heart Association has challenged the American public to improve cardiovascular health by (1) not smoking; (2) being physically active; achieving normal (3) blood pressure, (4) blood glucose and (5) total cholesterol levels, and (6) weight; and (7) eating a healthy diet. To examine trends in cardiovascular health, as related to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk, investigators studied National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1988–1994, 1999–2004, and 2005–2010, and from the NHANES III Linked Mortality File (through 2006).

Of nearly 45,000 participants, very few met all seven cardiovascular health goals (1988–1994, 2.0%;…

Reviewing Author

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

Few Americans Meet Goals for Cardiovascular Health

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Reviewing Author