Our Friday Focus 4 Health April Series will feature the Life’s Essential 8 guidelines, tools and application to improve quality and health outcomes for our patients and residents in the Dakotas.

The American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8™ provides eight key measures that can lead to a lifetime of good health. Life’s Essential 8 identifies the eight most important factors for cardiovascular health, four of which are health behaviors and four that are health factors. It is designed to recognize the fact that the mind, heart and body are connected, factors that affect one can certainly affect the other two. The Essential 8 components really are that ‘science-based recipe’ for a longer, healthier life. The 8 Measuresinclude:

1. Eat Better
2. Be More Active
3. Quit Tobacco
4. Get Healthy Sleep
5. Manage Weight
6. Control Cholesterol:
7. Manage Blood Sugar
8. Manage Blood Pressure