Diet, Lifestyle Can Prevent Heart Attacks in Women

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—A recent study revealed a healthy lifestyle could prevent myocardial infarctions (MIs) in women. The researchers confirmed that  combining a diet of vegetables, fruit and legumes with low alcohol consumption, no smoking, a physically active lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight could prevent more than at least? three of four cases of MI, according to the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2007; 167:2122-27).

A factor analysis was used to identify the low-risk behavior-based dietary patterns of 24,444 postmenopausal women, who were participating in the population-based prospective Swedish Mammography Cohort and were free of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes at baseline. The women did not smoke, possessed a waist-hip ratio less than .085 and exercised for at least one hour per week. Four major dietary patterns were established: healthy (primarily vegetarian, whole grains and fish); Western/Swedish (red meat, poultry, rice, pasta, eggs and fried potatoes); alcohol; and sugar consumption.

During 6.2 years of follow-up using a food frequency questionnaire to assess dietary habits and cardiovascular risk factors, 308 cases of MI were reported and 51 were fatal. Researchers noted that subjects who followed the healthy diet and lifestyle behavior (with moderate alcohol had a 92-percent reduction in the risk for MI. Additionally, subjects who combined no smoking, high levels of physical activity and maintained a healthy weight reduced their risk for MI by 79 percent vs. subjects with the highest levels of risk factors.

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