Table 1. Definitions of the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 Componentsa.
| Life’s Simple 7 component | Definition |
| Smoking | |
| Ideal | Never or quit >12 months |
| Intermediate | Former, quit ≤12 months |
| Poor | Current |
| Body Mass Index | |
| Ideal | <25 kg/m2 |
| Intermediate | 25–29.99 kg/m2 |
| Poor | ≥30 kg/m2 |
| Physical activityb | |
| Ideal | ≥4 times/week |
| Intermediate | 1–3 times/week |
| Poor | none |
| Healthy dietc | |
| Ideal | 4–5 healthy diet criteria |
| Intermediate | 2–3 healthy diet criteria |
| Poor | 0–1 healthy diet criteria |
| Total cholesterol | |
| Ideal | <200 mg/dl, without medication |
| Intermediate | 200–239 mg/dl or treated to <200 mg/dl |
| Poor | ≥240 mg/dl |
| Blood pressure | |
| Ideal | SBP/DBP<120/<80 mmHg, without medication |
| Intermediate | SBP of 120–139 or DBP 80–89 mmHg or treated to SBP/DBP<120/<80 mmHg |
| Poor | SBP≥140 or DBP≥90 mmHg |
| Fasting serum glucosed | |
| Ideal | <100 mg/dl, without medication |
| Intermediate | 100–125 mg/dl or treated to <100 mg/dl |
| Poor | ≥126 mg/dl |
Abbreviations: SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure.
As per Lloyd-Jones et al [20].
Definitions of ideal and intermediate levels of physical activity were modified from Lloyd-Jones et al [20] in which ideal level was defined as ≥150 minutes/week of moderate intensity activity or ≥75 minutes/week of vigorous activity and intermediate level was defined as 1–149 minutes/week of moderate intensity activity or 1–74 minutes/week of vigorous intensity activity.
Healthy diet criteria included: 1) fish consumption ≥2 servings/week, 2) fruits or vegetables ≥4.5 cups/day, 3) sodium intake <1500 mg/day, 4) sugar <450 kcal/week, and 5) fiber/carbohydrate ratio >0.1.
To avoid excluding non-fasting participants, the following cut-points were used to classify the glucose component in participants (n = 2,378) who did not fast prior to their study visit: ideal <140 mg/dl; intermediate 140–199 mg/dl or treated to <140 mg/dl; poor ≥200 mg/dl.