Western Diet And Heart Attacks

When it comes to increasing the risk of heart attack in relation to the foods people eat, the Western diet has come out on top again – this time as measured in 52 countries around the globe. A Western diet is one that is high in fried foods, salty snacks, meat and eggs. According to a most recent study, published in Circulation:

Journal of the American Heart Association , this diet increases heart attack risk by about 35 percent.

The study looked at 3 different dietary options. In addition to the Western diet was the Prudent diet. This one included a high amount of vegetables and fruits. Also considered was the Oriental diet. This one is higher in tofu, soy and a variety of sauces.

“The objective of this study was to understand the modifiable risk factors of heart attacks at a global level,” said senior study author Salim Yusuf, PhD of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada.

The results of some 16,000 people involved in the INTERHEART study were analyzed by researchers. Of this group who resided in 52 different countries, 5,761 of the cases had suffered a heart attack. The remaining 10,646 people made up the control group of persons without known heart disease. Researchers used a dietary risk questionnaire that included food items considered to be healthy and unhealthy. Both heart attack victims and healthy heart persons we interviewed.

Here is what the researchers found:

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who ate little or no fried foods or meats.

! Persons who consumed the Oriental diet showed no increase or decrease of heart attack risk.

Researchers noted that the Oriental diet does include many food items that are considered to be protective of the heart. However, these benefits are reduced by the fact this diet is usually high in salt content.

Dr. Yusuf pointed out that the study confirms that the consumption of higher amounts of fruits and vegetables is healthy and can help to reduce the risk of people in populations around the globe from having heart attacks. “At the same time, an unhealthy dietary intake, assessed by a simple dietary risk score, accounts for nearly one-third of the world population’s attributable risk.”

Source: The American Heart Association. “‘Western’ Diet Increase Heart Attack Risk Globally.” October 2008.

http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=552

! People who ate the Prudent diet had a 30 percent lower heart attack risk compared to people who ate lesser amounts of fruits and vegetables.