The following is a summary of “Association of Life’s Essential 8 With Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: The Framingham Heart Study,” published in the November 2023 issue of Cardiology by Rempakos et al.

The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) lacks comprehensive insight into the correlation between the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) cardiovascular health score and its link to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality.

Researchers conducted an analysis involving Framingham Offspring participants at examinations 2 and 6 (n=2888 and 1667; mean ages 44 and 57 years, respectively), all free of CVD, possessing information on LE8 components. Employing age‐sex–adjusted Cox models, they examined the association of LE8 and its alterations (from examination 2 to examination 6) with the risk of CVD and death. The study group also compared these associations with those derived from the Life’s Simple 7 score. The mean LE8 score at examination 2 stood at 67 points (ranging from a minimum of 26 points to a maximum of 100 points). 

Participants shifted across different cardiovascular health statuses when categorized based on either LE8 or Life’s Simple 7 scores (60% in ideal Life’s Simple 7 status were in the intermediate LE8 category). Over a median follow‐up of 30 and 33 years for CVD and mortality, respectively, 966 CVD events occurred, and 1195 participants succumbed to death. Participants with LE8≥68 (the sample median) exhibited lower risks of CVD and death in comparison to those with LE8<68 (examination 2: CVD hazard ratio [HR], 0.47 [95% CI, 0.41–0.54]; death HR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.49–0.62]; all P<0.001). Furthermore, individuals persistently maintaining low LE8 scores across their lifespan faced the highest risks of CVD and mortality (CVD: HRs ranging from 1.8 to 2.3; P<0.001; death HR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.13–1.85]; P=0.003 versus high‐high group).

This study prompts further investigation to ascertain whether the LE8 score serves as a superior marker of CVD and mortality risks in comparison to the Life’s Simple 7 score.

Source: ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.030764