Healthy lifestyle linked to lower risk of sudden cardiac death in women

Article

Women who don?t smoke, have a body mass index (BMI) lower than 25, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, and adhere to a Mediterranean-style diet have a significantly lower risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), a new study published in JAMA (2011;306[1]:62-69) finds.

Women who don’t smoke, have a body mass index (BMI) lower than 25, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, and adhere to a Mediterranean-style diet have a significantly lower risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), a new study published in JAMA (2011;306[1]:62-69) finds.

The prospective cohort study followed 81,722 women in the Nurses’ Cohort Study from 1984 to 2010, assessing lifestyle variables by questionnaire every 2 to 4 years. The researchers defined a low-risk lifestyle as maintaining a BMI below 25, exercising 30 minutes or more a day, not smoking, and having a Mediterranean diet score in the top 40% of the cohort (ie, high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and fish and moderate alcohol consumption).

During the 26-year follow-up period, 321 women suffered SCD (death within 1 hour of symptom onset without evidence of circulatory collapse) at a mean age of 72 years. The study found an independent and inverse association between all 4 low-risk lifestyle variables and a lower risk of SCD. Compared with women who had no low-risk factors, women with 1 low-risk factor had a multivariable relative risk of 0.54; women with 2 factors, 0.41; women with 3 factors, 0.33; and women with 4 factors, 0.08.

Women at low risk for all 4 lifestyle factors had a 92% lower risk of SCD than women at low risk for none of the factors, the authors observe. “If these associations are causal, 81% of SCD within this cohort may have been prevented if all women adhered to a low-risk lifestyle,” they write. The study didn’t assess how long women adhered to the healthy lifestyle factors, nor did it prove a causal connection between lifestyle and lower risk of SCD.

Newsletter

Get the latest clinical updates, case studies, and expert commentary in obstetric and gynecologic care. Sign up now to stay informed.

Recent Videos
Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, highlights AMA's new breast cancer prevention guidelines | Image Credit: pcrm.org.
Zachary Wagner, PhD, discusses the harms of bias in reproductive care | Image Credit: ornsife.usc.edu.
Ciera Kirkpatrick, PhD, shows how TikTok is transforming cervical cancer awareness | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Maria Gallo, PhD, discusses high attendance at crisis pregnancy centers | Image Credit: © x.com.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.