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8measures
Free 2-minute heart check

Three of these you cannot feel.

The American Heart Association tracks eight measures of cardiovascular health. Four are things you do. Four are things you measure. Three of those four usually give no symptoms at all until damage is already done, and they count just as heavily as diet and exercise. See where you stand on all eight.

8 questions · nothing personal collected · free guide at the end
Diet Movement Nicotine Sleep Weight Blood pressure Blood sugar Cholesterol
Question 1 of 8
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of 8 on track
All eight measures, the AHA target for each. No email needed.
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Your 8-Point Heart Guide

All eight measures, what the American Heart Association considers optimal, and why the last three deserve more attention than they usually get.

The four you do

Health behaviours

🥦 Diet A Mediterranean or DASH-style pattern Vegetables, fruit, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, fish, olive oil. Less ultra-processed food, less added sugar, less salt. AHA scores the overall pattern, not single foods, which is why one "superfood" never moves the needle.
🚶 Physical activity 150+ minutes moderate per week That is 30 minutes, 5 days. Brisk walking counts, and so does anything that leaves you a little out of breath but still able to talk. 75 minutes of vigorous activity counts the same.
🚫 Nicotine exposure None, including secondhand Cigarettes, vapes, and other people's smoke all count. AHA added vaping explicitly, and secondhand exposure at home or work lowers the score even if you have never smoked yourself.
😴 Sleep 7 to 9 hours a night Sleep joined the list in 2022, when the AHA expanded Life's Simple 7 into Life's Essential 8. It is weighted alongside diet and exercise, not treated as a bonus. Both too little and consistently too much score lower.
The four you measure

Health factors

⚖️ Body weight AHA uses BMI under 25 Worth knowing the caveat: BMI is a population-level measure. It does not distinguish muscle from fat, and it fits some bodies far better than others. Treat it as one input among eight, not a verdict, and talk to your doctor about what is right for you.
🩸 Blood pressure Optimal is under 120/80 High blood pressure is called the silent killer for a reason. It usually produces no symptoms at all while it damages arteries, kidneys and heart, which is why it goes unnoticed for years. A cuff at the pharmacy takes a minute.
🍭 Blood sugar HbA1c under 5.7% (39 mmol/mol) Blood sugar can sit in the prediabetes range for years without a single symptom. HbA1c reflects the last two to three months, so it catches a pattern rather than one morning.
🩸 Cholesterol Non-HDL under 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) AHA scores non-HDL cholesterol, which is total minus HDL, because it captures all the particles that contribute to plaque. No symptoms until something blocks. A single blood test covers it.

Why the last three matter more than they feel like they do

Most habit lists stop at food, movement and sleep, because those are the ones you can feel yourself doing. Blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol produce nothing to feel. There is no ache, no tiredness, no early warning. By the time symptoms appear, the damage has usually been accumulating for years.

That is exactly why the AHA weights them as heavily as the behaviours. You cannot sense any of the three. You have to measure them. If it has been more than a year, that is the single most useful thing on this page.

If you only do one thing

Book the numbers

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a blood pressure reading, an HbA1c and a lipid panel. It is one appointment, and it converts three unknowns into three numbers you can actually act on. Everything else on this list you can start today, on your own, without permission from anyone.

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Want the food side made simple?

Diet is one of the eight, and it is the one that touches the others. The book covers the nutrition basics that actually matter and the everyday habits that make eating well feel simple.

See the book

Source: American Heart Association, Life's Essential 8. This tool is general health and nutrition information from a BSc in Nutrition. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not a risk score. The targets shown are population-level guidelines. Your personal targets may differ, and only your doctor can set them. If you have a health condition, take medication, or have any concern about your heart, speak to a healthcare professional.