Dementia

AHA: Have a Healthy Heart, Keep a Cognitive Brain

The American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) recommend a heart-healthy lifestyle to also reduce the risk for dementia and cognitive decline. Their new joint presidential advisory defines optimal brain health for adults through 7 healthful behaviors.

To create the AHA/ASA Life’s Simple 7 program, an advisory panel reviewed 182 published studies, which supported the possible correlation between cardiovascular-associated lifestyle factors and brain health.
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The modifiable lifestyle factors identified by the AHA/ASA Life’s Simple 7 are:

  • No smoking
  • Meeting physical activity guidelines
  • Eating a healthy diet
  • Having a body mass index less than 25 kg/m2
  • Controlling cholesterol
  • Managing blood pressure
  • Maintaining normal fasting glucose levels

Additionally, the panel recommends following previously published guidelines for social engagement and other related strategies for brain health in addition to controlling cardiovascular risk factors.

While the panel defined optimal brain health in its presidential advisory, they also acknowledged that ideal circumstances for achieving optimal brain health may be uncommon and that other factors not related to cardiovascular health may be associated with cognitive decline.

“This work in defining optimal brain health in adults serves to provide the AHA/American Stroke Association with a foundation for a new strategic direction going forward in cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention,” the authors concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Gorelick PB, Furie KL, Iadecola C, et al; American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Defining optimal brain health in adults: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association [published online September 7, 2017]. Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0000000000000148.