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Background Unfavorable health‐related social needs (HRSNs) have the potential to worsen health and well‐being and drive health disparities. Its associations with cardiovascular health (CVH), assessed by Life's Essential 8, have not been comprehensively examined among US adults. Methods and Results We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011 to March 2020 data for adults aged ≥20 years. We grouped Life's Essential 8 scores as low (0–49), moderate (50–79), and high (80–100) CVH. We identified 8 unfavorable HRSNs and assigned a value of 1 for the unfavorable status of each. The number of unfavorable HRSNs was summed and ranged from 0 to 8, with higher numbers indicating more unfavorable HRSNs. We used multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression to examine the association between HRSNs and CVH. A total of 14 947 participants were included (n=7340 male [49.3%]; mean [SE] age, 46.4 [0.35] years). A higher number of unfavorable HRSNs were associated with worse CVH: comparing adults with unfavorable HRSNs of 1–2, 3–4, and ≥5 to those with none, the fully adjusted prevalence ratios (95% CI) for low CVH were 1.42 (1.17–1.73), 2.11 (1.69–2.63), and 2.42 (1.90–3.08), respectively. The corresponding prevalence ratios (95% CI) for high CVH were 0.77 (0.68–0.87), 0.58 (0.49–0.67), and 0.46 (0.38–0.55). The associations were consistent across subgroups and in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions There was a graded association between unfavorable HRSNs and a higher prevalence of low CVH or lower prevalence of high CVH. Public health interventions targeting HRSNs might reduce health disparities and promote CVH.

Background Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States, but little is known about their cardiovascular health (CVH). The objective of this study was to assess CVH among non‐Hispanic Asian Americans (NHAAs) and to compare these estimates to those of non‐Hispanic white (NHW) participants. Methods and Results Merging NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data from 2011 to 2016, we examined 7 metrics (smoking, weight, physical activity, diet, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure) to assess CVH among 5278 NHW and 1486 NHAA participants aged ≥20 years. We assessed (1) the percentage meeting 6 to 7 metrics (ideal CVH), (2) the percentage meeting only 0 to 2 metrics (poor CVH), and (3) the overall mean CVH score. We compared these estimates between NHAAs and NHWs and among foreign‐born NHAAs by birthplace and number of years living in the United States. The adjusted prevalence of ideal CVH was 8.7% among NHAAs and 5.9% among NHWs (P

Background Because family history is a known risk factor for heart disease, it is important to characterize its public health impact in terms of population prevalence of family history of heart disease, the burden of heart disease attributable to family history, and whether family history interacts with modifiable risk factors for heart disease. Methods and Results We used population data from NHANES (the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [2007–2014]) to measure the association of self‐reported family history of premature heart disease (FHPHD) with cardiovascular disease (n=19 253) and to examine the association between cardiovascular health metrics and FHPHD (n=16 248). Using logistic regression and multivariable adjustment, family history odds ratios were 5.91 (95% CI, 3.34–10.44) for ages 20 to 39, 3.02 (95% CI, 2.41–3.79) for ages 40 to 59, and 1.87 (95% CI, 1.54–2.28) for age ≥60 for cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease for the population with a FHPHD (15.72%; 95% CI, 13.81–17.64) was more than double the prevalence of cardiovascular disease for those without a family history (6.25%; 95% CI, 5.82–6.69). Compared with participants with optimum cardiovascular health, the prevalence ratio for FHPHD was 1.98 (95% CI, 1.40–2.79) for those with inadequate cardiovascular health. Conclusions Millions of people who are at high risk of having cardiovascular disease could be identified using FHPHD. FHPHD can become an important component of public health campaigns that address modifiable risk factors that plan to reduce the overall risk of heart disease.