Association Between a Healthy Heart Score and the Development of Clinical Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Women: Potential Role for Primordial Prevention.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The prevailing efforts for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention focused on treatment of common CVD risk factors rather than primordial prevention of risk factors through health behaviors. The previously validated Healthy Heart Score effectively predicted the 20-year risk of CVD in midadulthood; however, it is unknown whether this risk score is associated with clinically relevant CVD risk factors.

Methods and results

We analyzed the association between the Healthy Heart Score and the incidence of clinical CVD risk factors, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia among 69 505 US women in the Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII; 1991-2011). The Healthy Heart Score estimates the 20-year CVD risk based on 9 lifestyle factors; thus, a higher sc

SUBMITTER: Sotos-Prieto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4772164 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature