Want to slow aging? Essential Eight checklist holds the key, study suggests

Nov. 6 (UPI) — Keeping the heart healthy may slow the pace of aging and prevent the risk of cardiovascular and age-related diseases while extending life, a preliminary study suggests.

The study will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 Saturday through next Monday in Philadelphia.

Researchers explored the association between heart and brain health, as measured by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 checklist and the biological aging process, as computed by phenotypic age.

Phenotypic age is a strong measure of biological, or physiological, age. It’s calculated using a person’s chronological age along with nine blood test results for metabolism, inflammation and organ function. A higher score of phenotypic age acceleration indicates faster biological aging.

After accounting for social, economic and demographic factors, having the highest Life’s Essential 8 score (high cardiovascular health) was associated with a biological age that is on average six years younger than someone’s actual age.

“This study really reinforces the fact that it’s so important for us to measure our Life’s Essential 8 score — our cardiovascular health status,” Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, chair of the writing group for Life’s Essential 8 and a past volunteer president of the American Heart Association, said in a prerecorded video interview.

Four health behaviors are part of Life’s Essential 8 score: “Are we eating healthily? Are we participating in physical activity? Are we getting healthy sleep? And are we avoiding all types of nicotine exposures?” said Lloyd-Jones, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

He noted that it’s also essential to be aware of the numbers measured at the doctor’s office.

“What’s our weight and our healthy weight?” Lloyd-Jones said. “How’s our blood pressure doing? What’s our blood cholesterol levels? And, also importantly, what’s our blood sugar level?

“So, knowing those eight components, we can actually hone in on the cardiovascular health status that is Life’s Essential 8 score.”

After calculating phenotypic age and phenotypic age acceleration for more than 6,500 adults in the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the analysis found that participants with high cardiovascular health had a negative phenotypic age acceleration — they were younger than expected physiologically.

In contrast, those with low cardiovascular health had a positive phenotypic age acceleration — they were older than expected physiologically.

For instance, the average actual age of those with high cardiovascular health was 41, yet their average biological age was 36. Meanwhile, the average actual age of those who had low cardiovascular health was 53, even though their average biological age was 57.

Dr. Ashish Sarraju, a staff cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, who was not involved in the study, told UPI via email that people with high cardiovascular health could possibly be several years younger biologically than their chronological age.

This study, Sarraju said, “adds support to the utility of tracking and controlling cardiovascular risk factors for everyday folks. The Life’s Essential 8 framework outlines eight key measures for improving cardiovascular health, which are applicable to everyday folks: diet, activity/exercise, tobacco use, sleep, weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.”

Dr. Michael Miedema, a preventive cardiologist with Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, told UPI in a telephone interview that maintaining cardiovascular health and staving off aging both depend on multiple factors. Taking medications to manage high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes may help.

“Sometimes, in the modern era, people look at preventive medications as potentially toxic, but in reality, the people who controlled the risk factors the best were the people who were the healthiest,” Miedema said.

Dr. Gretchen Wells, a professor of cardiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Cardiovascular Institute, told UPI in a telephone interview that the Life’s Essential 8 factors impact all of a person’s health, not only cardiovascular health.

“Patients may expect high-tech testing, but these tools are simple, accessible and effective,” Wells said.

“Small changes actually make a difference, and you don’t achieve a perfect score all in in day,” she added. “For example, when we talk about not smoking, cutting down and eventually quitting will make a difference.

“And with regular physical activity, you may start walking five or 10 minutes and work up to about 30 minutes a day. Make small changes, but be consistent, and eventually, you will begin to notice a difference.”