Coronary Heart Disease - prevention

NUTRITION

• Adopt a Mediterranean diet or similar diet (1)

• Saturated fats: < 10% of daily calorie intake. Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats and/or unrefined carbohydrates (1)

• Salt: < 5g/day. Reduced salt intake reduces blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease (1)

• Adopt a more plant based diet rich in fibre, that includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains (1)

• Fruits: > 200g/day

• Vegetables: > 200g/day

• Fibre: 30-45g/day, preferrably from whole grain

• Nuts: 30g/day (unsalted)

• Keep alcohol intake below 100g per week (1)

• Fatty fish at least one time a week (1)

• Reduce intake of (processed) meat to below 500g/week (1)

• Sugar: Keep intake below 10% of daily calorie intake (1)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• For all age groups: 150-300 min a week of moderate intensity  (eg. brisk walking) or 75-150 min a week of vigorous intensity (eg. jogging, running) aerobic physical activity (1)

• When 150 min a week can not be achieved the person should strive to be as active as possible. Physical activity accumulated in bouts of 10 min or less has favorable outcomes (1)

• Reduce sedentary time (1)

• Perform resistance training 2 times a week to reduce risk of cardiovascular events and all cause mortality (1)

SMOKING

• Smoking is a strong and independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (1)

• Smoking cessation reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and also improves mental health (1)

MENTAL HEALTH

• Patients with mental disorders need more support in order to make lifestyle changes (1)

STRESS

• If significant stress, stress reduction may improve cardiovascular disease outcomes (1)