Precarina: A new app to measure the Cardiovascular Health Score in Children

Abstract

Introduction: In 2010, the American Heart Association (AHA) defined cardiovascular health (CVH) as a lifelong health promotion strategy. Inspired by the AHA's Essential 8th publication and the My Life Check application launched in 2022, our goal was to create an application (app) tailored to pediatric outpatient care aligned with Argentina's CVH consensus and promote cardiovascular prevention in children in Argentina and Latin America.

Materials and Methods: The app analyzes eight CVH components, including healthy behaviors (diet, physical activity, tobacco exposure, sleep) and healthy factors (body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure). Users must accept terms and conditions to download the app, ensuring security standards for iPhone and Android. The estimated CVH score serves as a guide and highlights the importance of regular evaluations.

Results: Results show individual metric scores from 0 to 100, allowing focused progress tracking. The overall score, an unweighted average, aids in comprehensive evaluation. The app facilitated the identification of cardiovascular risk factors in children, promoting early and personalized interventions.

Conclusions: This accessible and free app facilitates the long-term evaluation and monitoring of children's CVH. Its widespread use will contribute valuable data and tools to promote healthy behaviors in public health initiatives, improving childhood CVH and preventing future diseases in Argentina and Latin America.