The biggest comparable heart study to date was done in 1948, studying 15,000 participants, and was an eye-opener in the medical community, highlighting the link between lifestyle choices and conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and stress.
This discovery (and subsequent changes in treatment) is credited with the 75% reduction in mortality rates resulting from heart disease, over the past half century. Despite this, heart disease is still the premier cause of death amongst Americans, representing a serious wellness issue.
Whilst some of the risk factors are known, there is a still a lot of unknowns in the field of heart health. For example, why is it that some people can do everything possible to protect their wellbeing and still end up suffering from a heart attack?
Unlike the previous study, which gathered information from the participants every two years, via a visit to the doctor, the new study will simply be able to use their smartphones to track data in their day to day life. This will be done through methods such as downloading apps and wearing sensors that will help to track important data such as their blood pressure and their heart rate.
There are some fears, however, that the technology available is not quite up to the task yet, although researchers claim that the sheer quantity of data will make up for any problems. Researchers point out that technology is likely to evolve fairly quickly over the lifespan of the participants, allowing them to improve the study further over time.