Mediterranean Diet may help Patients With Heart Disease

In a recent study, published in the JAMA Network, scientists compared the effects of a Mediterranean diet with those of a low fat diet on key biological processes linked to heart health. In the largest and longest trial to evaluate a Mediterranean diet for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, the eating plan was superior to a low-fat diet.

Conducted at a single center in Spain, the trial involved 1002 patients with coronary heart disease—82.5% of whom were men— with an average age of 59 years. The participants were, randomly assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet intervention, and both groups received continuous dietary support over the 7-year study.

The primary outcome was a composite of major cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, revascularization, ischemic stroke, peripheral artery disease, and cardiovascular death. As reported in The Lancet, 17.3% of participants in the Mediterranean diet group and 22.2% of those in the low-fat diet group experienced the primary end point.

While, among men, the primary end point occurred in 16.2% of those assigned to the Mediterranean diet group and 22.8% of those assigned to the low-fat diet. However, the researchers found no difference in outcomes between the diets for the women in the study. Hence, the authors highlighted the fact that Mediterranean diet did help heart patients.

Reference:

Slomski A. Mediterranean Diet vs Low-fat Diet for Patients With Heart Disease. JAMA. 2022;327(24):2386. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.9509