More Optimal Cardiovascular Health Linked to Lower Risk for Severe COVID-19

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, May 29, 2026 -- During the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, more optimal cardiovascular health (CVH) was associated with a lower risk for severe COVID-19 events, according to a study published online May 27 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Timothy B. Plante, M.D., from the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington, and colleagues examined whether the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) metric and its components were associated with severe COVID-19 in the Collaborative Cohort of Cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R) consortium. In adjusted cause-specific hazard models, associations of incident severe COVID-19 with continuous LE8, categorical LE8 (low [<50], moderate [50 to <80], and high [≥80] CVH), and individual LE8 components were assessed.

Data were included for 29,740 participants in nine cohorts. The researchers identified 681 severe COVID-19 cases between March 1, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2023. For each one standard deviation higher LE8, the hazard of severe COVID-19 was 20 percent lower (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.80). High, but not moderate CVH, was associated with a lower risk for severe COVID-19 relative to low CVH (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.54). Associations were seen for LE8 components of better physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, and sleep with a lower hazard of severe COVID-19.

"Our results highlight that better heart health, which is something that individuals can work on, likely prepares you better for real-life stress tests such as infectious diseases like COVID-19," senior author Elizabeth C. Oelsner, M.D., Dr.P.H., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to Vasomune.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-30 09:42

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