Patients with heart failure can lead healthier lives if they make changes to their current dietary habits.
Contrary to common belief heart failure doesn't necessarily mean the heart stops beating. Heart failure is a condition where the heart becomes incapable of pumping enough blood and oxygen to circulate to other body organs. The disease is the primary cause of more than 55,000 deaths each year. According to a CDC report, more than 5.7 million people in the United States have heart failure and almost half of the people diagnosed with the illness die within the next five years.
Heart failure is usually accompanied by hypertension and blood pressure which most of the times results in the death of these patients. Researchers from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular conducted a study wherein they found a way in which these two conditions can be checked so that a heart failure patient can lead a healthier life.
According to researchers of the study, adopting a healthy diet, low in sodium content can help lower hypertension and improve heart function in patients with heart failure.
"Our work suggests diet could play an important role in the progression of heart failure, although patients should always talk to their doctor before making major dietary changes," said Scott Hummel, M.D., cardiologist at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. "We're excited to confirm these results in longer-term studies that also help us understand the challenges patients face when they try to improve their eating habits."
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is most common among older adults, usually in their 60s and 70s. For the study, a group of patients were put on a low-sodium Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan for 21 days. Their meals were prepared in the metabolic kitchen at the University of Michigan Clinical Research Unit. The meals were high in potassium, magnesium, calcium and antioxidants and recommended for hypertension treatment by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. The daily sodium intake was restricted to no more than 1,150 milligrams.
After the 21 days, researchers noted a drop in blood pressure similar to taking anti-hypertension medicine among the patients.
