Research Highlights:
Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Wednesday, July 16, 2025
DALLAS, July 16, 2025 — People who had more heart-healthy habits and factors, as assessed by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7™ metrics for ideal cardiovascular health, had more positive benefits for whole body health, according to a review of research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association , an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
Life’s Simple 7 was launched by the American Heart Association in 2010 to define and quantify the spectrum of heart health based on seven lifestyle and health measures: not smoking, healthy nutrition, regular physical activity, healthy weight and normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In 2022, the metrics were refined to include sufficient sleep and more detailed scoring. The updated cardiovascular health metric is now called Life’s Essential 8™ .
While the cardiovascular benefits of optimal cardiovascular health in terms of Life’s Simple 7 were already well-established, this is the first systematic review that examines the benefits to organs beyond the heart and death from cardiovascular disease and other causes, according to study authors.
“A few years ago, we learned that heart health and brain health are very closely tied. Through this review, we found that almost every organ system and bodily function also benefits from maintaining the healthy lifestyle behaviors of Life’s Simple 7,” said lead study author Liliana Aguayo, Ph.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Global Diabetes Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. “We were pleasantly surprised to find that Life’s Simple 7 at optimal levels touched every aspect of health, from head to toe. It goes well beyond just cardiovascular health to encompass whole-body health.“
Researchers reviewed nearly 500 research studies published in the decade after Life’s Simple 7 was introduced that had incorporated at least three of Life’s Simple 7 measures. Ideal cardiovascular health was defined as having six or seven of the metrics at high levels.
Among the findings:
“These findings confirm that healthy lifestyle metrics — eating well, exercising and not smoking — are key components to optimal health, in addition to maintaining healthy weight, normal blood pressure, and cholesterol blood sugar levels, which are the conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” Aguayo said.
“The ideal cardiovascular health metrics in Life’s Simple 7 and now Life’s Essential 8 are based on extensive scientific research that recognizes the majority of heart disease and stroke can be prevented,” said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association and senior vice president of women’s health and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health of Northwell Health in New York City. “The findings in this review study indicate that these healthy lifestyle metrics are also a path to improving health and well-being across the board, from head to toe. Preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing cardiovascular disease risk, the centerpieces for Life’s Essential 8, are the core of the American Heart Association’s mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.”
The review findings are limited due to the scoring system of Life’s Simple 7, which rates each category broadly as ideal, intermediate or poor and is less precise than is now possible under the methods of Life's Essential 8, according to Aguayo. Because this study relies on published literature, it may under-represent studies with negative or inconclusive findings, researchers said.
The investigators called for more research especially among children, pregnant women and populations in less-studied areas of the world. Also, more research is needed on both the benefits of even small improvements in these health metrics and the mechanisms that are pathways between Life’s Simple 7 or Life’s Essential 8 and better health.
Study details, background and design:
This review was partially funded by a Strategically Focused Research Network grant from
the American Heart Association as well as a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the American Heart Association. Co-authors and disclosures are listed in the manuscript.
Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations. These sources include contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of our educational materials. Corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations to the Association. The Association has strict policies to prevent any donations from influencing its science content. Overall financial information is available here .
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Journal of the American Heart Association
16-Jul-2025