Abstract Body: Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major concern worldwide. Unhealthy lifestyle and habits can greatly increase the risk of developing CVD. Additionally, compelling evidence suggests an increase in modifiable risk factors among young people globally. This highlights the importance of early intervention and lifestyle changes to prevent the development of CVD later in life, as those recommended by the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Life’s Essential 8 (LE8).
Purpose: We assessed cardiovascular health (CVH) status among male and female undergraduate students using the AHA LE8 score.
Methods: Overall 106 undergraduate students aged 18 to 24 years without pre-existing history of cardiovascular disease were included. Participants’ overall CVH was analyzed using the LE8 score (0-100)which is categorized as ideal (80-100), intermediate (50-79), and poor (0-50). We had a sample size of 60 males and 46 females, with 52 students being Pakistani nationals and 54 students being of different ethnic groups (Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkish etc.), thus the data analysis was stratified by sex and ethnicity.
Results: In the overall study sample of 106 students, the mean LE8 score was 76.67 (0.17). The highest and lowest factors were blood sugar 96.98 (0.067) and diet 36.368 (0.545), respectively. The gender-based analysis showed that in male the CVH score was 75.973 (0.463) while in female it was 77.407 (0.463).
Conclusions: In conclusion our study indicate that the university students had intermediate CVH health status. No significant difference in the LE8 Score between male and female was observed. Of all the participants, only 39,6% of students had ideal CVH. Hence, we concluded that it is important to raise awareness about the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease among young people, especially students. Implementing educational strategies to inform students about these risk factors could be a valuable approach to promoting lifestyle changes and preventing cardiac problems in this population.