Overview

• Older adults reporting at least one cardiovascular condition averaged Life’s Essential 8 scores below 60 out of 100, compared with 68 for those without cardiovascular disease.
• From 2013–2018, scores declined by about 4.1% for people with high blood pressure, 11.5% for those with a history of stroke, and 15.2% for those with heart failure.
• The gap in cardiovascular health was largely explained by very low scores for blood pressure and physical activity, with a nine-point average deficit for people with one diagnosed condition.
• Findings come from NHANES data on 3,050 adults aged 65 and older, weighted to represent roughly 37.9 million U.S. seniors before the COVID-19 era.
• Authors describe the analysis as cross-sectional and limited to six common diagnoses, and experts urge targeted steps such as home blood pressure monitoring, addressing exercise barriers, low-salt diets, and use of AHA tools like MyLifeCheck.