Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot supply enough blood and oxygen to the main organs in the body.
The condition affects about 5.7 million people in the United States and approximately 26 million people worldwide.
Some experts predict that heart failure will become more and more prevalent worldwide, which has led them to refer to it as a “global pandemic.”
However, emerging evidence suggests that a diet consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables can prevent cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study strengthens this idea.
Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and her colleagues, have examined the associations between five major dietary patterns and the risk of heart failure among people without any known history of heart disease.
Dr. Lara and her team published the results of their study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The effect of diets on heart failure
The researchers examined data available from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Namely, they looked at the dietary patterns among 16,068 black and white people who were 45 years old, on average.
The participants answered a 150-item survey, which included 107 food items. The researchers grouped the foods into five dietary patterns:
- “convenience” diets, which consisted of meat-heavy dishes, pasta, pizza, and fast food
- “plant-based” diets, consisting mainly of vegetables, fruit, beans, and fish
- “Southern” diets, which comprised a significant amount of fried foods, processed meat, eggs, added fats, and sugary drinks
- “alcohol/salads” diets, which included lots of wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens, and salad dressing.
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