Anti stroke foods
adults have heart failure, which occurs when the heart doesn't pump enough blood and oxygen to support the other organs in the body. According to AHA statistics, an estimated 6.2 million U.S. Khera said the study also was important because it looked specifically at heart failure outcomes, whereas previous diet studies focused more on heart attacks and strokes. The only surprise to me was the magnitude of the effect." "This is a reminder that diet is important. Amit Khera, professor of medicine and director of the preventive cardiology program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "It's well known that diet plays a critically important role in the development of heart disease and stroke," said Dr. The research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The results were presented at the American Heart Association's virtual Scientific Sessions earlier this month. After following participants for a year, they found those whose diets had higher inflammatory scores were more than twice as likely to die or be hospitalized compared to those whose diets had lower inflammatory scores. They then categorized the diets using an index that scores foods based on whether they increase or decrease inflammation. Kang looked at data from a previous study in which her team asked 213 heart failure patients to keep diaries of what they ate for four days. Diets high in foods such as red meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products have been shown to increase inflammation, while foods such as olive oil, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower it. "If people with heart failure can reduce the amount of pro-inflammatory foods that they eat, it might help with their survival," said lead researcher JungHee Kang, a nursing research assistant and PhD student at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.ĭiet has been shown to play a role in regulating inflammation, which is associated with many chronic illnesses, including heart disease. People with heart failure who eat a diet high in foods that cause inflammation are twice as likely to end up in the hospital or die as those who eat foods known to reduce inflammation, new research shows. (Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library, Getty Images)