Coronary Heart Disease

NUTRITION

• Saturated fats: Less than 7% of daily calories (1)

• Trans fat: Less than 1% of daily calories (1)

• Fibre: > 10g/day (1)

• Omega 3 from fish or supplements (1)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• 30-60 min of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity (eg. brisk walking) 5-7 days a week (1)

WEIGHT

• Recommended BMI: 18.5 - 25 (1)

• Waist circumference: < 102 cm for men, < 89 cm for women (1)

SMOKING CESSATION

• Avoid smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (workplace, at home, etc.) (1)

• Smoking cessation may reduce the ischemic heart disease mortality with about 33%. 10-15 years after smoking cessation the risk is at the same level as non-smokers (1)

POTENSIAL REVERSAL WITH AN INTENSIVE LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION

• There is some evidence that an intensive and broad lifestyle intervention (10% fat whole foods vegetarian diet, aerobic exercise, stress management training, smoking cessation, group psychosocial support) may lead to regression of coronary artery plaques and reduction of cardiac events (2)