32 Possible Ways to Live Longer and Increase Life Expectancy

To assess the effects of meeting these targets on risk of death from cardiovascular disease, Artero and colleagues looked at data from the Aerobics Longitudinal Study, conducted in 11,993 patients between Oct. 9, 1987 and March 3, 1999. The authors found that those who met 3-4 of AHA’s “Simple Seven” heart-health criteria had a 55% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality than those who met no more than 2 of those practices over about 11 years. It was 63% lower for those who fulfilled five to seven of the ideal criteria compared with those with the lowest scores. The overall prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health was extremely low in this middle-aged cohort, with only 0.2% of patients meeting all 7 criteria. (1)