Study finds 4 out of 5 MIs preventable with healthy lifestyle

Checking off all of the boxes for a healthy lifestyle could reduce the risk of MI in men by as much as 86 percent. These findings were published online Sept. 30 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Agneta Åkesson, PhD, of the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues wrote that four out of five MIs were preventable with appropriate diet, moderate alcohol consumption and physical activity. Not smoking and having low adiposity were also key factors.

While any one factor had an impact on patients’ health, the greatest impact was seen in patients who combined a healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruits, grains, nuts and a 2.5 servings a week of fish, and who drank a median of 17 grams of alcohol per day. Together, these factors created a 35 percent reduction in the risk of MI among these patients compared to those in the high-risk group.

Only 8.7 percent of men in the study combined diet and moderate alcohol consumption. One percent of the study population followed a profile that included all five healthy lifestyle factors, reducing their risks by 86 percent when compared to patients who had none of the healthy lifestyle factors.

Åkesson et al wrote that compared to the lowest risk group, the population-adjusted risk for the remaining cohort of ultimately having an infarction was 79 percent. “If instead only 50%, 25%, or 10% of the men followed the low-risk practices, the rates were 39%, 19%, and 7%, respectively,” wrote Åkesson et al.

The Swedish study was not a full population study, following a cohort of 20,721 men polled in 1997 over a 10 year span.

Healthy lifestyles have been an increasing area of focus in cardiology as many risks for cardiovascular diseases can be mitigated and future costs reduced if a patient can maintain lifestyle changes in addition to or as opposed to using medical interventions.

Prior trials have looked at the effect on atherosclerosis a five-point healthy lifestyle can have, the effect even temporary body mass index (BMI) changes may have, and whether sedentary activities or high-impact activities have more benefit on overall health. And, while the effect of moderate consumption of alcohol on cardiovascular risks is under some debate, the risk of overconsumption is still clear.

“It is time for medical educators, clinicians, health administrators, and insurance providers to follow suit by designing and implementing a comprehensive, ambitious agenda to incorporate measures of and targets for dietary quality, physical activity, smoking, and central obesity into every aspect of the health system,” wrote Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DRPH, of Tufts University in Boston, in an editorial.

Åkesson et al agreed. When noting that adopting at least two healthy behaviors was associated with lowered risk, they wrote, “It is, however, also clear that extensive prevention only can be achieved through inhibiting the initiation and establishment of any high-risk behavior." They recommended the use of prevention methods that would focus on early introduction and encourage maintenance of low-risk behaviors to control future healthcare costs.

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