A medical research study from New Northwestern Medicine research, in Chicago, Illinois, shows that risk for a heart attack or stroke may be higher then most people realize. The study points to the need for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle to avoid a heart attack or stroke. First Lady Michelle Obama has been highlighting the need for healthy lifestyle, starting in childhood, with her Let's Move campaign.
The study is the first to include women and black men, giving a more complete picture of risk factors over a broad spectrum of the population.The study shows a young or middle-aged adult who is at low risk in the short term may be at very high risk in the long term -- if he or she has just one or two risk factors such as higher than optimal cholesterol or blood pressure levels.
Previous studies have included white people, predominantly males. In addition to including women and blacks, this study looked at the entire adult age spectrum. The study followed groups of people over a period of over 50 years. The patients’ risk factors for cardiovascular disease -- blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status and diabetes status -- were measured at ages 45, 55, 65 and 75 years for each participant.
“We are giving incomplete and misleading risk information if we only focus on the next 10 years of someone’s life,” said principal investigator Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, “With even just one risk factor, the likelihood is very large that someone will develop a major cardiovascular event that will kill them or substantially diminish their quality of life or health.”
The risk-factor profile was considered optimal when a participant had a total cholesterol level of less than 180 milligrams per deciliter and untreated blood pressure of less than 120 over less than 80, was a nonsmoker and did not have diabetes.
The study points to the need for patients and physicians to focus on keeping risk factors in check. Risk factors include elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. Two or more risk factors seem to multiply the risk of heart attack or stroke. Loyola offers signs of stroke
Even slightly elevated blood pressure or cholesterol bumps up the lifetime risk, according to Lloyd-Jones. Slightly elevated, or non-optimal, means a person doesn’t have diabetes and doesn’t smoke but either cholesterol is 180 to 199 or blood pressure is 120 to 130 on top or 80 to 89 on the bottom. These numbers aren’t at levels that need to be treated with medication, but they are still higher than desired.
Some risk factors can be reduced by making lifestyle changes, particularly diet, exercise and smoking cessation. This study indicates the importance stopping smoking and of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. People with concerns about risk factors should consult their physician.
“We need to do a much better job of making sure these risk factors don’t develop in the first place, getting kids and young adults off to better starts so they don’t gain weight and are following healthier lifestyles throughout their lives,” Lloyd-Jones said.
Lloyd-Jones pointed out that maintaining the full package of optimal risk factors through middle age had a dramatic effect on the remainder of a person’s life. “It appears that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” he said.
The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
First Lady Michelle Obama has initiated the Let's Move Campaign, which focuses on the importance of healthy nutrition and exercise for children. Healthy habits learned in childhood can benefit a person throughout their lifetime. Part of the First Lady's initiative is to eliminate food deserts, neighborhoods where stores do not offer fresh fruits and vegetables. The First Lady was in Chicago in October, 2011 to announce the opening of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. First Lady Michelle Obama in Chicago talks about food deserts
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