A recent study conducted at John Hopkins University and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found a significant link between four healthy behaviors (regular exercise, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, keeping a normal weight, and not smoking) and heart health.
The researchers created a “lifestyle score” for the participants ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 4 (healthiest) based on their diet and body mass index.
The study evaluated 6200 participants. All of the participants were followed for an average of 7.6 years. They went through coronary calcium screening (using a CT scan) when they first enrolled in the study to see if there were any early signs of calcium buildup in their heart arteries, which could cause a heart attack. As the study progressed, the researchers evaluated whether the subjects had a heart attack, or chest pain.
The team found that the participants who adopted all four healthy behaviors had an 80% lower death rate caused by heart disease over time compared to participants with none of the healthy behaviors.
According to lead author, M.D., M.P.H, Haiham Ahmed:
“While there are risk factors that people can’t control, such as their family history and age, these lifestyle measures are things that people can change and consequently make a big difference in their health. That’s why we think this is so important.”
If you are interested in minimizing your risk for heart disease, you might want to consider making these healthy behaviors part of your lifestyle.
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