Background and purposePrevious studies have demonstrated that the components of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics are related to dementia. This study aimed to investigate the overall effects of ideal CVH metrics on cognitive functioning.MethodsInformation was collected on the seven ideal CVH metrics (smoking, body mass index, dietary intake, physical activity, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting blood glucose) from the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community study, and cognitive functioning was assessed by the score of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE). Multivariate logistic regression and linear regression models were used to assess the relationships between ideal CVH metrics and cognitive functioning.ResultsA total of 3260 (56.7% men) patients were included in this study. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the associations between the number or score of ideal CVH metrics and cognitive impairment remained significant [odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) 0.773 (0.664–0.928) and 0.904 (0.831–0.983), respectively]. In addition, there were significant linear relationships between the number or score of CVH metrics and the score of the MMSE (β = 0.211 and 0.134 respectively, P < 0.001).ConclusionsA clear inverse association was observed between the number or score of ideal CVH metrics and cognitive impairment in a Chinese population, supporting the importance of ideal CVH metrics in prevention of dementia.