Cardiovascular health maintains the brain

There is strong evidenceTrusted Source that brain health and cardiovascular health are closely connected, so damage to the heart and vascular system can negatively affect the brain.

The AHA came up with Life’s Simple 7Trusted Source in 2017. This brief guide names seven key factors to look out for when it comes to cardiovascular health.

These are:

1. blood pressure
2. cholesterol
3. blood sugar
4. level of exercise
5. diet
6. body weight
7. smoking status

According to the AHA, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, high blood sugar, a sedentary lifestyle, a poor diet, a high body mass index (BMI), and smoking all place cardiovascular health at risk.

However, the good news is that these are all environmental factors that individuals may be able to take steps to modify.

Now, in a new scientific statement that appears in the journal StrokeTrusted Source, the AHA reiterate the importance of these seven factors to maintain the health of not only the cardiovascular system but also the brain.

“Many people think of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other risk factors as affecting only heart health, yet these very same risk factors affect our brain health,” says Dr. Ronald M. Lazar, Ph.D., the Evelyn F. McKnight Endowed Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging and director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Dr. Lazar, who is the first author of the scientific statement, also notes, “Patients might be more likely to pay attention to the importance of addressing modifiable risk factors if they understood the links.”