AIMS OF THE STUDY: The American Heart Association (AHA) developed a concept to measure cardiovascular health in populations. We aimed to analyse participants in the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study (SWICOS) according to the AHA concept.

METHODS: We analysed cardiovascular health according to the AHA concept in all 474 participants of the prospec- tive, population-based SWICOS study who were 18 years or older. The AHA concept uses seven health metrics of known cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, total cholesterol, blood glucose, smoking, body weight, physi- cal activity and diet), and classifies each health metric ac- cording to three levels (ideal, intermediate and poor) using pre-defined cut-offs.

RESULTS: Ideal cardiovascular health for three or more of the seven health metrics was found in 259 participants (54.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 50.1–59.4%), but a relevant number of participants (n = 213, 45.1%, 95% CI 40.6–49.7%) showed ideal cardiovascular health for only two or fewer of the seven health metrics. Poor cardiovas- cular health for three or more of the seven health metrics was found in 40 participants (8.5%; 95% CI 6.1–11.4%); a majority of 432 participants (91.5%; 95% CI 88.6–93.9%) showed a poor level for only two or fewer of the seven health metrics.