Life’s Essential 8 (LE8), a cardiovascular health metric developed by the American Heart Association, integrates health behaviors and clinical factors into a single score and may provide a practical tool for risk assessment and health promotion.
In a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the investigators evaluated the prognostic value of LE8 and compared its performance with SCORE2 in participants from the Akershus Cardiac Examination 1950 (ACE1950) Study. The analysis included 2,938 adults without established cardiovascular disease who had complete LE8 data available at baseline. Participants were followed for incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) through 2022, with a median follow-up of 8.3 years.
Findings
- Among 2,938 participants, only 9.8% achieved “optimal” cardiovascular health according to LE8 criteria.
- During a median follow-up of 8.3 years, 6.7% of participants experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event.
- Higher LE8 scores were associated with a lower risk of MACE (HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.35–1.73).
- SCORE2 showed similar prognostic performance (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.57–2.10), with no significant difference between LE8 and SCORE2 for predicting MACE (P=0.30).
The findings suggest that LE8 provides cardiovascular risk prediction comparable to SCORE2 while simultaneously serving as a framework for lifestyle counseling and cardiovascular health promotion.
