Cited by 2,785Cardiovascular Health and Risk FactorsHealth Promotion and Cardiovascular PreventionCardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention

Life's essential 8: updating and enhancing the American Heart Association's construct of cardiovascular health: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association

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Lloyd-Jones, Donald M., Allen, Norrina B., Anderson, Cheryl A.M., Black, Terrie, Brewer, LaPrincess C., Foraker, Randi E., Grandner, Michael A., Lavretsky, Helen +4 more·2022·Circulation

Abstract

In 2010, the American Heart Association defined a novel construct of cardiovascular health to promote a paradigm shift from a focus solely on disease treatment to one inclusive of positive health promotion and preservation across the life course in populations and individuals. Extensive subsequent evidence has provided insights into strengths and limitations of the original approach to defining and quantifying cardiovascular health. In response, the American Heart Association convened a writing group to recommend enhancements and updates. The definition and quantification of each of the original metrics (Life’s Simple 7) were evaluated for responsiveness to interindividual variation and intraindividual change. New metrics were considered, and the age spectrum was expanded to include the entire life course. The foundational contexts of social determinants of health and psychological health were addressed as crucial factors in optimizing and preserving cardiovascular health. This presidential advisory introduces an enhanced approach to assessing cardiovascular health: Life’s Essential 8. The components of Life’s Essential 8 include diet (updated), physical activity, nicotine exposure (updated), sleep health (new), body mass index, blood lipids (updated), blood glucose (updated), and blood pressure. Each metric has a new scoring algorithm ranging from 0 to 100 points, allowing generation of a new composite cardiovascular health score (the unweighted average of all components) that also varies from 0 to 100 points. Methods for implementing cardiovascular health assessment and longitudinal monitoring are discussed, as are potential data sources and tools to promote widespread adoption in policy, public health, clinical, institutional, and community settings.

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Crossref · 10.1161/cir.0000000000001078

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  • Preventing the development of hypertension reduces risk more than treating existing hypertension.

    “Preventing the development of hypertension reduces risk more than treating existing hypertension.36,37”

    From 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome (2026) · cites this paper as [36]

    In the Clinical Statements and Guidelines section (p. e28), the advisory recommends a lower cardiovascular-health score for treated blood pressure because people requiring treatment retain residual risk. This supports the idea that avoiding hypertension is preferable to relying on treatment, but it does not directly compare how much risk prevention reduces versus treatment. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Regular assessments of lipids, glycemia, and kidney function are recommended with increasing frequency for higher CKM stages, as the risk for progressive metabolic and kidney disease increases along the CKM spectrum.

    “Regular assessments of lipids, glycemia, and kidney function (eg, eGFR) are recommended with increasing frequency for higher CKM stages, as the risk for progressive metabolic and kidney disease increases along the CKM spectrum.13,18–21”

    From 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Clinical Statements and Guidelines table describes measuring blood lipids and blood glucose as cardiovascular-health metrics. It does not recommend kidney-function assessment or specify increasingly frequent assessments at higher CKM stages, so the stage-based recommendation is not supported by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Ultimately, adverse SDOH have downstream consequences on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality and contribute to disparities in CVD mortality.

    “Ultimately, adverse SDOH have downstream consequences on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality11,14 and contribute to disparities in CVD mortality.21”

    From 2026 AHA/ACC/ADA/ASN Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The “SDOH and Considerations for Equitably Improving CVH Across Contexts” section says social determinants affect cardiovascular health and that structural barriers sustain disparities in cardiovascular health. Citation 21 is attached specifically to disparities in CVD mortality, which the cited passages do not establish; the cardiovascular and all-cause mortality clause has separate citations. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The unweighted average of the four CVD risk factors is common for composite CVD risk score generation.

    “Because the exact relative importance of each CVD risk factor was unclear in this specific population, we used the unweighted average of the four CVD risk factors, which is also common for a composite CVD risk score generation.14”

    From Aerobic, resistance, or combined exercise training and cardiovascular risk profile in overweight or obese adults: the CardioRACE trial (2024) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Clinical Statements and Guidelines section endorses an unweighted average for a composite cardiovascular health score. But it averages all eight component metrics, not just the four CVD risk factors, and does not establish that this method is common for composite CVD risk scores. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The four traditional CVD risk factors (systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, fasting glucose, and per cent body fat) are often included in routine composite CVD risk algorithms to predict future CVD in clinical practice.

    “These four traditional CVD risk factors are often included in routine composite CVD risk algorithms to predict future CVD in clinical practice.10,11,14,22”

    From Aerobic, resistance, or combined exercise training and cardiovascular risk profile in overweight or obese adults: the CardioRACE trial (2024) · cites this paper as [14]

    The clinical scoring table (p. e26 and following) includes blood pressure and fasting glucose, and the implementation section says CVH metrics in electronic health records can support risk prediction. But the advisory uses BMI rather than percent body fat and non-HDL rather than LDL cholesterol for its composite CVH score. It does not establish that the four specified measures are often included together in routine clinical CVD risk algorithms. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [24]24. Allen NB, Hwang S-J, Cupples LA, Levy D, Fox C, O'Donnell C, Lloyd-Jones D. The heritability of ideal cardiovascular health: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2010;122:A17245-A17245. Abstract 17245.
  2. [120]120. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. How much sleep do I need? Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sleep/conditioninfo/how-much 127. American Heart Association. Go Red for Women. 2022. Accessed January 10, 2022. https://www.goredforwomen.org/ Downloaded from http://ahajournals.org by on September 1, 2023 August 2, 2022 Circulation. 2022;146:e18-e43. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001078 e40 Lloyd-Jones et al Life's Essential 8 CLINICAL STATEMENTS AND GUIDELINES 128.

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Authors
Lloyd-Jones, D. M., Allen, N. B., Anderson, C. A. M., Black, T., Brewer, L. C., Foraker, R. E., Grandner, M. A., Lavretsky, H., Perak, A. M., Sharma, G., Rosamond, W., & on behalf of the American Heart Association
Venue
Circulation
Published
2022-08-02
Volume
146
Issue
5
Pages
e18-e43
ISSN
  • 0009-7322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1524-4539
OpenAlex
W4283695295
Cited by
2,785
References
226
Citations by year
2026: 650 · 2025: 916 · 2024: 731 · 2023: 432 · 2022: 54 · 2014: 1
FWCI
108.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Circulation (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • American Heart Association
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K23HL145101)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P30DK092950)
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R21MD013490, L60 MD012087)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
Keywords
cardiovascular health, Life's Essential 8, Life's Simple 7, cardiovascular health score, cardiovascular health assessment, diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body mass index, serum lipids, blood glucose, blood pressure, social determinants of health, mental health, life course, interindividual variability, long-term monitoring
MeSH terms
American Heart Association, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Diseases, Heart, Humans, Risk Factors, United States, Exercise

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