If you give your heart to someone special, make sure it’s healthy and ready to keep beating for many years to come. So this year, to save you from tears, we recommend that you take a test called My Life Check based on the “Life’s Essential 8.”
The “Life’s Essential 8” was developed by the American Heart Association and is based on eight assessment categories:
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Food
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Physical activity
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Tobacco exposure
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Sleep
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Weight
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Cholesterol
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Blood sugar
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Blood pressure
My Life Check test gives a score and recommendations about what areas you can improve.
How To Interpret The Score?
The closer your cardiovascular health (CVH) score to 100 – the better heart health you have! Below 50 is low heart health, 50 to 80 is moderate, and 80 to 100 is high.
The graphics show the risk of cardiovascular and cancer mortality for people with different scores
People with low cardiovascular health scores may be at greater risk of:
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Mortality from cardiovascular disease.
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Cancer mortality.
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Stroke.
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Arthritis.
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Hyperuricemia that can cause kidney stones and kidney disease.
How Is It Useful For You?
If your CVH score is above 80 – celebrate Valentine’s Day with a lighter heart!! But people with scores closer to 50 and below might want to make an appointment with their healthcare provider and reconsider their habits.
Don’t be shy and ask your loved one to take the test too!
Can Lithium Protect Heart?
Microdosing lithium seems to support the health of the inner lining of blood vessels. In lab studies using human cells and animal arteries, researchers found that lithium helped blood vessels relax more easily and reduced leakiness in vessel walls by lowering inflammation-related activity.
This kind of vascular protection could help explain why some patients on lithium have a lower risk of stroke.