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World Heart Day: The importance of a healthy diet
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Sept. 29 marks World Heart Day, a global initiative to raise awareness of CVD.
The goal of World Heart Day is to inform people worldwide that CVD, including heart disease and stroke, is the leading cause of death, resulting in 17.5 million lives each year, according to the World Heart Federation. The theme of this year’s World Heart Day is “share the power.” It is based upon the thought that small changes — following a healthy diet, increasing physical activity and abstaining from smoking, among others — can make a difference on heart health and avoid premature deaths.
In support of World Heart Day, Cardiology Today compiled seven articles detailing the association between CVD and a healthy lifestyle.
High salt intake doubles risk for HF
A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona concluded that high salt intake was associated with a twofold increase in the risk for HF.
“The role of salt intake in the development of heart failure is not known. Estimation of individual salt intake is methodologically demanding and therefore, suitable population-based cohorts are rare,” according to Pekka Jousilahti, MD, PhD, research professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, and colleagues.
Healthy weight behavior influences later-life BP
Maintaining healthy weight behavior for 25 years may reduce the risk for hypertension in young adulthood and middle age, according to data from the CARDIA study presented at the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension, AHA Council on Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease, American Society of Hypertension Joint Scientific Sessions in September.
“[These] data [suggest] that body weight is very important in terms of maintaining a normal blood pressure from early and into middle adulthood,” John N. Booth III, PhD, postdoctoral fellow of the AHA’s Strategically Focused Hypertension Research Network at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a press release.
High sodium intake harms cardiac structure, function
Estimated sodium intake of more than 3.7 g per day appears to be associated with adverse cardiac remodeling, worse systolic strain and worse diastolic e’ velocity.
“These data provide support for the adverse [CV] effects (including direct myocardial effects) of high sodium intake,” researchers wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
AHA/ASA: Heart-healthy lifestyle also benefits brain health
A heart-healthy lifestyle can improve brain health in adults and reduce the risk for cognitive decline, including dementia, according to a presidential advisory from the AHA and American Stroke Association.
“Research summarized in the advisory convincingly demonstrates that the same risk factors that cause atherosclerosis are also major contributors to late-life cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease,” Philip B. Gorelick, MD, MPH, FAHA, executive medical director of Mercy Health Hauenstein Neurosciences in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the chair of the advisory’s writing group, said in a press release. “By following seven simple steps — Life’s Simple 7 — not only can we prevent heart attack and stroke, we may also be able to prevent cognitive impairment.”
AHA: Polyunsaturated fats as substitute for saturated fats lower risk for CVD
The AHA recommends substituting saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk for CVD. The benefit is specifically noted with polyunsaturated fat, often found in oils such as peanut, corn and soybean, according to the presidential advisory statement published in Circulation.
Healthful plant-based diet may decrease risk for CHD
Participants who ate a healthier plant-based diet had a decreased risk for CHD, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“When we examined the associations of the three food categories with heart disease risk, we found that healthy plant foods were associated with lower risk, whereas less healthy plant foods and animal foods were associated with higher risk,” Ambika Satija, ScD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a press release. “It’s apparent that there is a wide variation in the nutritional quality of plant foods, making it crucial to take into consideration the quality of foods in a plant-based diet.”
Improved diet quality may reduce risk for death
Patients who improved their diet quality during a 12-year period had reduced risk for all-cause and CV mortality, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
“Overall, our findings underscore the benefits of healthy eating patterns, including the Mediterranean diet and the [Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension] diet,” Mercedes Sotos-Prieto, PhD, assistant professor of food and nutrition science at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, said in a press release. “Our study indicates that even modest improvements in diet quality could meaningfully influence mortality risk, and conversely, worsening diet quality may increase the risk.”