People with serious heart problems are unlikely to get the diet advice they need Only 23% of people treated for heart attack, heart failure and similar problems got dietary guidance Such advice could protect their future health WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Less than one-quarter of people who survive serious heart conditions receive the dietary counseling needed to protect their future health, a new study finds. Only about 23% of people treated for major illnesses like and heart failure receive counseling on their diet within three months of hospitalization, researchers reported recently in the “Nutrition counseling may reduce the risk a person has for cardiovascular episodes and disease, yet our research shows that the vast majority of patients, who are all at risk after significant heart events, are not receiving this essential education,” said senior researcher , a professor of internal medicine-cardiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 150,000 patients seen for serious heart problems at hospitals across Michigan between late 2015 and early 2020.
Most of the patients who did receive dietary counseling got it as part of a cardiac rehabilitation program. Only 20% to 30% of eligible patients take advantage of such rehab, researchers noted. Outside of cardiac rehab, doctors offered dietary counseling just 5% of the time.
It might be that the doctors don’t have the time to offer diet advice, or don’t.
