Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
August 20, 2025
Heart Health Declining Sharply in Older Adults with Cardiovascular Conditions
TLDR
- Older adults with cardiovascular diseases face declining health scores, highlighting opportunities for proactive individuals to gain longevity advantages through early lifestyle interventions.
- The study analyzed 2013-2018 NHANES data from 3,050 adults using Life's Essential 8 metrics, showing significant cardiovascular health declines in those with hypertension, stroke, or heart failure.
- This research underscores the need for better healthcare support to improve cardiovascular health and quality of life for aging populations worldwide.
- Cardiovascular health scores dropped up to 15.2% in older adults with heart conditions, primarily due to poor blood pressure and physical activity metrics.
Impact - Why it Matters
This research matters because cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and the aging population is growing rapidly with the last Baby Boomers reaching 65 within five years. The findings reveal that despite medical advances allowing people to live longer after heart attacks or strokes, their overall cardiovascular health is deteriorating significantly. This decline in heart health among older adults with pre-existing conditions suggests that current healthcare approaches may be failing to address the comprehensive lifestyle factors that contribute to long-term cardiovascular wellness. The study's identification of blood pressure and physical activity as key drivers of the health gap provides actionable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers, and individuals to focus intervention efforts more effectively. As more Americans live into older age with chronic conditions, improving cardiovascular health metrics could reduce healthcare costs, enhance quality of life, and potentially extend healthy lifespan for millions of people.
Summary
A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals alarming declines in cardiovascular health among older U.S. adults with pre-existing heart conditions. The research, analyzing data from 3,050 adults aged 65 and older from the 2013-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that cardiovascular health scores based on the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 metrics dropped significantly for those with high blood pressure, stroke, or heart failure. The most dramatic declines were observed in people with heart failure (15.2% decrease), stroke (11.5% decrease), and high blood pressure (4.1% decrease), while those without cardiovascular disease maintained an average score of 68 out of 100.
The study, led by Northwestern University researcher James M. Walker, identified that the health gap between those with and without cardiovascular disease was largely explained by poor performance in blood pressure and physical activity metrics. The Life's Essential 8 framework evaluates eight critical components including diet, physical activity, smoking status, sleep, body mass index, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Researchers emphasized that this baseline data from before the COVID-19 pandemic provides crucial context for understanding how cardiovascular health trends may have been further impacted during and after the pandemic, particularly given that older adults were disproportionately affected by cardiovascular complications during the health crisis.
American Heart Association President Stacey E. Rosen stressed the importance of early intervention, noting that as the Baby Boomer generation ages and medical advances allow people to live longer after cardiovascular events, there is an urgent need to provide older individuals with resources to maintain healthy lifestyles. The findings underscore the critical need for healthcare professionals to offer support earlier in life to help the aging population maintain better cardiovascular health, especially as the number of older adults with multiple cardiovascular conditions continues to grow nationwide.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by NewMediaWire. Read the original source here, Heart Health Declining Sharply in Older Adults with Cardiovascular Conditions
