Cutting Out Meat Boosts Heart Attack Victims' Chances for Survival

People who improved their eating habits the most after a heart attack had a better chance of surviving, according to a study online this week in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers assessed the diets of 4,098 women and men from both the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010—a tool developed to determine chronic disease risk based on diet—before and after a heart attack. The results showed that after a nine years of follow-up, a diet lowest in red and processed meat products and sugar and highest in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables lowered the risk of death from heart disease by 40 percent, compared with no dietary changes.