Healthy heart behaviors delay onset of heart disease

Most Americans engage in behaviors that can help prevent or delay the onset of heart disease, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The good news is that over 93 percent of adults surveyed by AHRQ in 2004 reported that they engaged in at least one of the three heart-healthy behaviors recommended by the American Heart Association -- not smoking, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight. Specifically:

• More than half (56 percent) said that they engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity three times a week.
• Over three-quarters (78 percent) reported that they currently did not smoke.
• More than one-third (39 percent) reported their Body Mass Index to be under 25, which is below what is considered to be overweight or obese.
• The bad news is that only 18 percent of adults reported that they practiced all three heart-healthy behaviors. Approximately 42 percent practiced two behaviors, and 34 percent practiced only one.
• Some 6.5 percent of adults do not engage in any of the healthy behaviors.
• 18.3 percent of adults who had been told by a doctor that they had indicators of heart disease continued to smoke.

AHRQ, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care in the United States. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers comes from the Agency's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a highly detailed source of information on the health services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of these services, and how they are paid.