Heart Disease

Also known asCardiovascular Disease · CVD · Coronary Heart Disease · Coronary Artery Disease · CHD · Heart Attack · Heart Failure · Angina · 心脏病 · 心血管疾病 · 冠心病 · Penyakit Jantung

What it is

Heart disease covers conditions of the heart and blood vessels. The most common is coronary heart disease, where fatty deposits narrow the arteries that feed the heart and can lead to angina or a heart attack. Heart failure and irregular heartbeats are other forms.

High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, excess weight, inactivity and heavy drinking all raise the risk.

How food and lifestyle can help

A Mediterranean-style or DASH eating pattern lowers blood pressure and LDL cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. It is the whole pattern that counts, more than any single "superfood".

Foods and nutrients to focus on

1. Plenty of vegetables and fruits, and whole grains such as oats, brown rice and wholemeal bread.
2. Beans, lentils and chickpeas, nuts and seeds and soya foods.
3. Oily fish twice a week for omega-3.
4. Olive and other unsaturated oils instead of butter, ghee, coconut or palm oil.
5. Herbs, spices, garlic, lemon and vinegar to flavour food in place of salt (herbs and spices).
6. Foods rich in potassium, such as beans, bananas and leafy greens, help balance sodium.

Foods and drinks to limit

1. Salt and salty foods: instant noodles, soy and oyster sauce, stock cubes, pickled and preserved foods.
2. Saturated fat from fatty and processed meat, butter, ghee, cream and coconut or palm oil, and trans fats.
3. Sugary drinks and sweets, and heavy drinking.

Good to know

1. Supplements are not a substitute for food. Fish oil, vitamin E and beta-carotene have not been shown to protect the hearts of healthy people; check with your doctor before taking fish oil, especially with blood thinners.
2. If you take warfarin, keep your intake of leafy greens (vitamin K) steady from week to week rather than avoiding them.
3. With heart failure, your team may set limits on salt and fluid: follow their advice.
4. Related pages: High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol.

When to see a doctor

1. Chest pain or pressure, breathlessness, pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back, sweating or feeling faint: call your local emergency number straight away and do not drive yourself.
2. Swollen ankles, getting breathless more easily, or a racing or irregular heartbeat.
3. You have several risk factors and have not had a heart health check.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition or take medicines, check changes to your diet with your doctor or a registered dietitian.

WHO — Cardiovascular diseases, used for the main facts: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)