- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- Fact Check
- Bone Health Fact Check
- Brain Health Fact Check
- Cancer Related Fact Check
- Child Care Fact Check
- Dental and oral health fact check
- Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
- Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
- Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
- Fitness fact check
- Gut health fact check
- Heart health fact check
- Kidney health fact check
- Medical education fact check
- Men's health fact check
- Respiratory fact check
- Skin and hair care fact check
- Vaccine and Immunization fact check
- Women's health fact check
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
Absence and Midlife Reversal of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Strongly Predict Long-Term Survival: NEJM Global Analysis

Absence of five key cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, abnormal body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and tobacco use) at age 50 is associated with over a decade of increased life expectancy, with midlife control of blood pressure and smoking offering the greatest gains, a global study finds.
In what may emerge as a touchstone reference for preventive cardiology, the Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium (GCVRC) has published a comprehensive analysis in The New England Journal of Medicine (March 2025), examining how five modifiable cardiovascular risk factors influence lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality—across 133 cohorts spanning six continents and over 2.08 million individuals.
While well-established risk factors—arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, abnormal body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus, and tobacco use—are already known for their cumulative burden, this study provides robust global evidence by quantifying the lifetime impact of both risk-factor burden and risk modification in midlife. For clinicians, this enables more informed counseling and supports timely intervention strategies during the fifth and sixth decades of life.
Risk-Free at 50: A Decade’s Worth of Life
At 50 years of age, individuals without any of the five risk factors had substantially lower lifetime risks of CVD—13% in women and 21% in men—compared to those with all five risk factors (24% and 38%, respectively). The corresponding increase in CVD-free life-years was 13.3 years in women and 10.6 in men. Life-years free of death were even greater: 14.5 years in women and 11.8 in men.
These figures represent a considerable extension of healthy life span, with implications for the prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke, and other cardiovascular events.
Smoking and Hypertension: The Biggest Levers
When individual factors were analyzed, smoking cessation was associated with the greatest increase in years free of death—5.6 years in women and 5.1 years in men. Hypertension control conferred the most additional CVD-free life-years when modified during midlife—4.7 years in women and 4.2 in men.
This distinction is clinically important: while midlife control of hypertension yielded the greatest increase in cardiovascular disease–free life-years, smoking cessation was associated with the most additional years free from death, according to the study findings.
Lipids and BMI: Modest but Variable Effects
The benefits of controlling hyperlipidemia and BMI were less consistent. Aiming for non-HDL cholesterol <130 mg/dL showed neutral or negative associations with life expectancy unless regional variation was accounted for. Similarly, BMI in the 20–25 range showed modest benefit, which increased when regional standard-deviation scores were applied. These findings highlight the importance of context-sensitive targets rather than uniform cutoffs.
Risk Modification in Midlife: Still Worthwhile
Importantly, the study evaluated participants who had all five risk factors between ages 50 and 55 and then modified them by age 60. Results showed that controlling hypertension during this interval led to 2.4 additional CVD-free life-years in women and 1.2 in men, while smoking cessation conferred 2.1 and 2.4 additional years free of death, respectively.
These results reinforce that meaningful benefits from intervention are still possible in midlife—even after earlier exposure to multiple risk factors.
Toward Lifetime-Based Risk Assessment
Unlike conventional 10-year risk estimates, this analysis projects outcomes over the full lifespan, offering a longer-term view of benefit. By doing so, it enables a preventive narrative that focuses not just on avoiding near-term events but on gaining healthy years of life.
Reference: Magnussen C, Ojeda FM, Blankenberg S, et al; Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium. Global effect of cardiovascular risk factors on lifetime estimates of cardiovascular disease and death. N Engl J Med. 2025;390(13). doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2415879
Meghna A Singhania is the founder and Editor-in-Chief at Medical Dialogues. An Economics graduate from Delhi University and a post graduate from London School of Economics and Political Science, her key research interest lies in health economics, and policy making in health and medical sector in the country. She is a member of the Association of Healthcare Journalists. She can be contacted at meghna@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751