Top in cardiology: Link between heart health and age; sudden cardiac death among athletes

People who adhere to a heart-healthy lifestyle experience cardiovascular health benefits that may partially be due to the effect of this lifestyle on biological age, according to an analysis in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers analyzed data from 5,682 participants in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort and found that a stricter adherence to the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 guidelines was associated with lower risks for CVD, CVD-related mortality and all-cause mortality. The researchers said some of the benefits were partially mediated by epigenetic age scores, which varied across different scoring algorithms.

“Our message is that everyone should be mindful of the eight heart disease and stroke health factors: eat healthy foods; be more active; quit tobacco; get healthy sleep; manage weight; and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels,” Jiantao Ma, PhD, an assistant professor in the division of nutrition epidemiology and data science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said in a press release.

It was the top story in cardiology last week.

In another top story, most athletes who experienced sudden cardiac death had a structurally normal heart on autopsy, but the causes and circumstances of death differed significantly by race, according to findings published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology.

Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:

Benefits from heart-healthy lifestyle may be related to lowering biological age

Adherence to a heart-healthy lifestyle confers cardiovascular health benefits, and part of the reason may be due to the effect on biological age, researchers reported. Read more.

Cause, circumstance of sudden cardiac death in athletes vary by race

A structurally normal heart was the most common finding among athletes who experienced sudden cardiac death, but the cause and circumstance of death varied significantly by the athletes’ race, researchers reported. Read more.

Renin-angiotensin system blockade beneficial for Black and non-Black patients with HFrEF

Renin-angiotensin system blockade conferred similar mortality benefits for Black vs. non-Black patients with heart failure, and despite less benefit for hospitalization for Black patients, absolute benefit was comparable, researchers reported. Read more.

Lp(a), LDL management, health system quality metrics and more in spotlight at NLA 2024

The National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions were held May 30 to June 2 and spotlighted emerging areas of research such as “cardio-rheumatology,” a renewed push to reinstate LDL as a health system quality metric and more. Read more.

RNA interference agents appear to benefit patients with mixed hyperlipidemia

In two phase 2b trials, RNA interference agents were associated with reductions in triglycerides compared with placebo for patients with mixed hyperlipidemia. Read more.