Many of the risk factors for heart disease are continuing to increase
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Jan. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death, according to a report from the American Heart Association published online Jan. 27 in Circulation.
Seth S. Martin, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues present the latest data on clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions and associated outcomes.
According to the 2025 statistical update, the odds of cardiovascular disease were lower with every increasing one-standard deviation increment of the AHA Life’s Essential 8 score (odds ratio, 0.64). Cardiovascular health score, as measured by the AHA Life’s Essential 8, and components predicted major adverse cardiovascular events within the U.K. Biobank. There was a consistent decline in adult and youth cigarette use during the past two decades, but disparities persist. From 2011 to 2021, there was a decrease in the percentage of high school students who were physically active for ≥60 minutes on all seven days of the week (from 28.7 to 23.9 percent). Most of the American population does not consume a healthy dietary pattern. The prevalence of obesity was 41.8 percent for men and women from 2017 to 2020. Prevalence of high blood pressure increased with age, reaching 76.5 percent among those aged 65 years and older.
“The disparities in risk and outcomes call for tailored interventions among high-risk populations,” Dhruv S. Kazi, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston and author of an accompanying editorial, said in a statement. “Simply discovering breakthrough therapies isn’t going to be enough — we have to ensure that these therapies are accessible and affordable to people who need them most.”
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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