May 26, 2026

A growing body of research recognizes that where you live can shape how healthy your heart may be. To explore this further, co-led research out of the Dornsife School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics established a first-of-its-kind county-level cardiovascular health (CVH) score based on the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 framework, a tool previously used only to assess individual health risk. Drawing on publicly available data from the CDC's PLACES database and the County Health Rankings and Roadmap, the team mapped cardiovascular health across thousands of U.S. counties, revealing striking geographic disparities.

The team at Dornsife consisted of Loni Philip Tabb, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, and now Dornsife alumni Arpita Deb, MS Biostatistics ’24, and Colleen Kazokas, MPH Epidemiology ’24, who also collaborated with peers at Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Southeastern University, and Temple University.

This research revealed some regions showed notably stronger heart health environments than others, with clear clustering patterns suggesting that cardiovascular health is far from evenly distributed across the country. Perhaps most significantly, the study found that air pollution levels and access to primary care were among the strongest predictors of a county's cardiovascular health score.

“What I found interesting was how clearly the spatial clustering appeared and how much variation existed even within some states, which highlights how local structural factors and environments can shape cardiovascular health differently across counties,” shared Arpita.

Published in Public Health Journal in April 2026, these findings underscore a well-documented but often under-addressed reality: that social determinants of health, from the air communities breathe to whether residents have access to primary care, shape heart health outcomes at a population level. To address these disparities, stakeholders can access this wealth of data to implement policy and explore interventions.

“Counties can use these study findings to identify where cardiovascular health is lagging and target resources more strategically,” said Arpita. “Policies that improve access to primary care, healthier food environments, etc. could make a meaningful difference, especially in counties with consistently lower cardiovascular health scores.”

Possible interventions could include expanding community health clinics, investing in programs that improve access to grocery stores or healthy food options, and implementing local environmental or public health initiatives that reduce exposure to air pollution.

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