An investigation of a large, nationally representative sample of adult Americans suggests that the risk of total and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality appears to be lower in those who meet a greater number of CVD health metrics. However, just 1.2% of participants met all seven cardiovascular health metrics in 2005-2010. These metrics included not smoking, being physically active, staying at a healthy weight, having healthy diet, and maintaining normal blood pressure, glucose, and total cholesterol levels. The data indicated the following absolute risks for 1,000 person-years:
Source: JAMA, March 16, 2012 (online).
