While heart disease is one of the top killers of Americans, the number of cases has actually been on the decline recently. Despite this supposed downward trend, cases of heart disease in young women have stabilized. One possible explanation for this lack of

further decline in heart disease cases in young women could be related to lifestyle choices.

A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology explored this issue by evaluating the proportion of heart disease cases and cardiovascular risk factors among young women that may be related to poor diet and other lifestyle choices.

88,940 younger women between the ages of 27 and 44 were followed between 1991 and 2011.

Lifestyle habits were determined by self-reported questionnaires.

A “healthy lifestyle” was defined by: 1) non-smoker; 2) “normal” BMI; 3) being physically active for at least 2.5 hours per week; 4) watching TV for less than 7 hours per week; 5) eating a healthy diet (i.e. in the top 40% of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores); and 6) consuming between 0.1 and 14.9g/day of alcohol.

Proportion of heart disease and risk factors (inc. diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) were calculated.

Important Findings:

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