Heart Attack Survivors Eating a Healthy Plant-Based Diet Had 26% Lower Risk of Death

People who eat a healthy plant-based diet after a heart attack have a 26% lower risk of death over the following years, according to a Harvard study published in Circulation on August 25.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health followed 3,277 women from the Nurses' Health Study and 2,618 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who survived a heart attack, at an average age of 68, for 15.7 years. Diet was measured with food questionnaires repeated every two to four years.

Comparing the top fifth with the bottom fifth, a high score on the healthful plant-based diet index after the heart attack was linked to 26% lower total mortality. All eight healthy patterns studied, including the Mediterranean and DASH diets, were linked to 23% to 34% lower risk, with similar results for cardiovascular deaths and repeat heart attacks. People who improved their diet after the heart attack also did better, according to the paper.

The authors conclude: "Among individuals who survived MI, adherence to post-MI dietary patterns emphasizing higher diet quality was associated with better long-term survival."

It's never too late to fill the plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and beans.

Cardiologists have backed this for years, with the American College of Cardiology recommending plant protein, and in April a meta-analysis linked swapping animal for plant protein to 23% lower cardiovascular mortality.

A healthier heart, one plate at a time.