Table 1

AHA definitions of cardiovascular health for each metric

Health metricLevelDefinition
Smoking status*IdealSmoked less than 100 cigarettes
IntermediateSmoked at least 100 cigarettes lifetime, but currently not smoking at all
PoorSmoked at least 100 cigarettes lifetime and currently smoking
Body mass index†Ideal<25 kg/m2
Intermediate25–29 kg/m2
Poor≥30 kg/m2
Physical activity‡Ideal≥150 min/week moderate or ≥75 min/week vigorous or ≥150 min/week moderate+vigorous
Intermediate1–149 min/week moderate or 1–74 min/week vigorous or 1–149 min/week moderate+vigorous
PoorNone
Healthy diet score§Ideal≥81
Intermediate51–80
Poor≤50
Blood pressure¶IdealSBP<120/DBP<80 mm Hg
IntermediateSBP 120–139 or DBP 80–89 mm Hg or treated** to SBP<120/DBP<80 mm Hg
PoorSBP ≥140 or DBP≥90 mm Hg or treated** not to SBP <120/DBP<80 mm Hg
Total cholesterol††Ideal<200 mg/dL
Intermediate200–239 mg/dL or treated** to <200 mg/dL
Poor≥240 mg/dL or treated** not to <200 mg/dL
Fasting plasma glucose††Ideal<100 mg/dL
Intermediate100–125 mg/dL or treated** to <100 mg/dL
Poor≥126 mg/dL or treated** not to <100 mg/dL
  • *Cigarette smoking was determined based on self-reports ‘Smoked at least 100 cigarettes in life’ and ‘Do you now smoke cigarettes’.

  • †BMI (kg/m2) was calculated based on objectively measured weight and height.

  • ‡Physical activity was assessed by self-reported frequency and duration of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity recreational activities.

  • §Dietary intake was obtained from 24 hours dietary recall interviews. From 1999 to 2002 based on the just one dietary interview, whereas frome 2003 to 2014 based on the average of first and second dietary interviews, Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores were calculated by R language using the ‘hei’ package.

  • ¶Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures were measured four times consecutively by certified examiners, the average of all available blood pressure measures for each person was calculated.

  • **Self-reported history of medications for hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol were also obtained to determine whether participants received treatments for the conditions above, based on the questions ‘are you now taking prescribed medicines for high blood pressure/cholesterol/blood sugar’.

  • ††Total cholesterol (mg/dL) and fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL) were assessed using fasting blood samples.