Food choices post heart attack: Edibles to savor and abstain from
A heart-healthy diet plays a crucial role in recovery and reducing the risk of further cardiac events after a heart attack. Focusing on nutrient-rich whole foods can support your heart's health and aid in the healing process. Here's a guide to the foods to eat and those to avoid, as well as recommended dietary patterns and lifestyle advice.
Foods to Eat
- Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, and pistachios provide unsaturated fats, fiber, and magnesium, which help reduce inflammation, maintain good cholesterol, and regulate heart rhythm.
- Beans and lentils: These supply plant-based protein and fiber to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiac stress.
- Extra virgin olive oil: This offers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, improving arterial flexibility and heart health.
- Avocados: Rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and potassium, avocados help lower LDL cholesterol and control blood pressure.
- Leafy green vegetables: Providing vitamin K, nitrates, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds, leafy greens enhance blood vessel health and circulation.
- Fish: Especially oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, consumed at least twice a week, deliver omega-3 fatty acids beneficial for heart health.
- Whole grains: Like oats, whole wheat bread, and brown rice, whole grains supply fiber and nutrients that help with cholesterol and blood pressure control.
- Fruits: High in vitamin C (e.g., oranges, lemons), fruits can reduce arterial stiffness and support blood vessel elasticity.
Foods to Avoid
- Processed meats, packaged snacks, fast food, and sugary drinks: These contain trans fats, excess sodium, and added sugars that increase blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Saturated fats and trans fats: Found in butter, margarine, lard, and fried foods.
- Excess sodium: Limiting salt, salty sauces, and high-sodium fish.
- Red meats and high-fat dairy products: These should be limited or replaced with lean meats, beans, or tofu.
- Heavy alcohol consumption: No more than two drinks a day for men and one for women.
Recommended Dietary Patterns
- The Mediterranean diet, emphasizing olive oil, fish, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, is effective for reducing inflammation and lowering heart-related risks by 23%.
- The DASH diet targets hypertension by reducing sodium and unhealthy fats; it supports circulation and reduces medication reliance.
- A plant-based diet excluding animal fats and focusing on whole foods like beans, fruits, and grains helps lower cholesterol and avoids harmful foods.
On Supplements
While some vitamins and supplements (such as omega-3 fatty acids) may support heart health, their use should be tailored individually and discussed with a healthcare provider. The primary focus remains a balanced diet of whole foods rich in natural nutrients.
Additional Lifestyle Advice
Alongside diet, regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise) is recommended to improve cardiovascular health and aid recovery. Additionally, maintaining a moderate weight, managing conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol, and high blood pressure, reducing stress, quitting smoking where applicable, and monitoring blood pressure and blood sugar levels can reduce modifiable risk factors for heart attacks and other heart-related conditions.
Sources:
- Mayo Clinic
- American Heart Association
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Journal of the American College of Cardiology
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- A nutritionist might recommend almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, which are heart-healthy foods due to their unsaturated fats, fiber, and magnesium that help reduce inflammation and maintain good cholesterol.
- The science of nutrition shows that consuming oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, at least twice a week, delivers omega-3 fatty acids beneficial for heart health.
- While some supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids, may support heart health, maintaining a balanced diet of whole foods rich in natural nutrients is a healthcare provider's primary focus.
- Leafy green vegetables, rich in vitamin K, nitrates, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds, support blood vessel health and circulation.
- Focusing on the Mediterranean diet, accompanied by regular fitness-and-exercise, health-and-wellness habits like maintaining a moderate weight, and managing conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, can reduce modifiable risk factors for heart attacks and other heart-related conditions.
