Heart-healthy habits can improve overall physical and psychological well-being

A new study from Emory University reveals that maintaining optimal cardiovascular health can significantly improve overall physical and psychological well-being.

Published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study synthesizes findings from nearly 500 peer-reviewed studies. It confirms that the benefits of heart-healthy behaviors extend far beyond the heart, positively impacting brain function, vision, hearing, muscle strength, and even reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and dementia.

"While we recently learned that heart-health and brain health are closely tied, in this review we found that almost every organ system and bodily function from head to toe benefit from a heart-healthy lifestyle," says Liliana Aguayo, PhD, MPH, research assistant professor at the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and core faculty member at Emory's Global Diabetes Research Center, who led the study. 

The review is the first of its kind to systematically examine how the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7™ metrics - which include not smoking, healthy eating, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar - influence health outcomes across multiple organ systems. The updated Life's Essential 8™ also includes sleep as a key factor.

Among the key findings were that those with heart-healthy habits:

• Were more likely to maintain their brain and lung function, vision and hearing, and keep their teeth and muscle strength as they age. 
• Experienced lower levels of cortisol and stress and lower frequencies of several chronic diseases, including cancer, COPD, pneumonia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and kidney and end-stage renal disease.
• Had a higher self-reported quality of life and a lower risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, sleep-disordered breathing, metabolic syndrome, erectile dysfunction, functional disability and mobility problems, and all-cause mortality.
• Experienced lower medical expenditures, health care utilization, and non-cardiovascular disease costs.

The study was supported in part by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. It calls for further research in underrepresented populations, including children and pregnant women, and emphasizes the need to understand how even minor lifestyle improvements yield significant health benefits.