4 out of 5 Heart Attacks Are Preventable
A population-based cohort study led by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that adhering to a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle could prevent as many as 4 out of 5 heart attacks in men.
“A meaningful decrease in disease incidence could be obtained even if parts of the population adhered to healthy lifestyle behavior,” says Agneta Akesson, PhD, an associate professor and senior lecturer of nutritional epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute, and lead author of the study. “Unfortunately, few do.”
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The study, which followed 20,721 Swedish men between the ages of 45 and 79 with no history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol from 1997 to 2009, found that just 2 of 5 low-risk behaviors—a healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption—was associated with a relative risk of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.48-0.87) for myocardial infarction compared with men who practiced none of the low-risk factors.
For the study, Akesson and colleagues identified the aforementioned factors, along with refraining from smoking, being physically active, and having no abdominal adiposity, as healthy behaviors. They found following all five behaviors was associated with a relative risk of 0.14 (95% CI: 0.04-0.43).
Each of the five lifestyle factors was inversely and independently associated with the risk of MI after adjustment for the other aspects of the low-risk profile, according to the investigators. Overall, "this reduction in risk corresponded to 18 percent for the healthy diet, 11 percent for moderate alcohol consumption, 36 percent for no smoking, 3 percent for being physically active, and 12 percent for having a low abdominal circumference.”
Akesson emphasizes that all 5 of these low-risk factors are modifiable, noting that “it’s also important to point out that practicing some of the low-risk factors or parts of them is better than practicing none of them.”
The study also shows that “practicing the low-risk factors is important also for men at higher cardiovascular risk, such as those with hypertension and high cholesterol levels,” says Akesson.
“On the other hand, extensive prevention can only be achieved through inhibiting the initiation and establishment of any high-risk behavior early in life.”
—Mark McGraw
Reference
Akesson A, Larsson S, et al. Low-Risk Diet and Lifestyle Habits in the Primary Prevention of Myocardial Infarction in Men: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014.