People who had “poor” scores on the American Heart Association’s “Life's Simple 7” cardiovascular health assessment at age 50 were almost two times more likely than those with “intermediate” scores and almost three times more likely than those with “optimal” scores to have developed dementia two-and-a-half decades later.

People whose cardiovascular health is in good shape at age 50 are less likely to develop dementia later in life, according to British researchers.

These findings, published earlier this month in The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal), support the idea that having heart-healthy habits throughout life serves as an effective preventive measure not just against heart disease and stroke, but also against dementia.

As background information in the study points out, dementia is a progressive condition. Changes in the brain associated with dementia can start 15 to 20 years before any clinical symptoms appear.

Most previous studies have tended to investigate only the cardiovascular risk factors for dementia that exist late in life. The current study takes a longer view, examining the factors that are present many years earlier, in midlife.

“Our findings suggest that the Life’s Simple 7, which comprises the cardiovascular health score, at age 50 may shape the risk of dementia in a synergistic manner,” the authors of the study conclude. “Cardiovascular risk factors are modifiable, making them strategically important prevention targets.”

And you don’t have to have perfect scores in all seven metrics to benefit, they add.

“Even small improvements in cardiovascular health metrics, without necessarily reaching the optimal level for each metric, are likely to be beneficial in reducing the risk of dementia,” the researchers stress.