Most children are born with the components of favorable cardiovascular risk—good blood pressure, lipid, and glucose levels; ideal body weight; and not smoking. If they can hold onto those assets, keep their weight down, and not get diabetes, they can avoid cardiovascular disease later. These researchers wanted to identify early psychosocial factors that safeguard and promote cardiovascular health into adulthood.
This physician essayist applauds the adoption of the American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goal to improve the cardiovascular health (CVH) of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke by 20 percent—by the year 2020.
Positive psychological well-being, especially optimism, protects against the incidence, and somewhat against the progression, of cardiovascular disease through a broad array of mechanisms, according to this extensive literature review.
While low levels of negative emotion or high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are predictors of long-term survival in men and women, being both fit and not unhappy provides a strong combined effect, reducing premature death by 63 percent, according to this study.