Healthy Heart Diet

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

The goal of a heart healthy diet is to decrease your risk for heart disease. Heart disease can lead to a heart attack or stroke (blood clot in the brain). There are several health conditions that can increase your risk for heart disease. Some of these conditions include unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and obesity (weighing more than your caregiver recommends). If you have any of these conditions, you should make diet and lifestyle changes as part of your treatment plan. People who have already had a heart attack or stroke also should follow the heart healthy diet. The heart healthy diet may also help to decrease the risk of having another heart attack or stroke. Always read the ingredient label on packaged food before you decide to buy the product.

AFTER YOU LEAVE:

What should I know about the different types of fat in my diet?

• Unhealthy fats: A diet that is high in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat may cause unhealthy cholesterol levels.
  
  
  • Cholesterol: Limit intake of cholesterol to less than 200 mg per day. Cholesterol is found in meat, eggs, and dairy (milk, cheese).
    
    
  • Saturated fat: Limit saturated fat to less than seven percent of total daily calories. Ask your caregiver how many calories you need each day. Saturated fats are found in meat and dairy.
    
    
  • Trans fat: Limit trans fat to less than one percent of total calories. Ask your caregiver how many calories you need each day. Foods that say trans fat free on the label may still have up to 0.5 grams of fat per serving. Trans fats are used in fried and baked foods.
  
  
• Healthy fats: Unsaturated fats can be healthy for you and can help to improve your cholesterol levels. Increase your intake of healthy fats by replacing saturated and trans fats in your diet with unsaturated fat.
  
  
  • Monounsaturated fats: Monounsaturated fats are found in nuts and vegetable oils, such as olive, canola, safflower, and sunflower.
    
    
  • Polyunsaturated fats: Unsaturated fat can be found in vegetable oils, such as soybean or corn. Omega-3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat that can help to decrease the risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fats are found in fish, such as salmon, herring, trout, and tuna. Omega-3 fats can also be found in plant foods, such as walnuts, flaxseed, soybeans, and canola oil.

What are other diet guidelines I should follow?

• Maintain a healthy weight: Your risk of heart disease is higher if you are overweight. Your caregiver may suggest that you lose weight if you are overweight. The following are some diet changes you can make to lose weight.
  
  
  • Eat fewer calories: A healthy way of decreasing calories is to eat fewer foods that have added sugars and fats. Foods that are have added sugars are also high in calories, which can cause you to gain weight. Some foods that have added sugars are sweet drinks (soda and fruit drinks), candy, cakes, cookies, and pies.
    
    
  • Eat smaller portions: You can also decrease calories in your diet by eating smaller portions at each meal and eating fewer snacks. Ask your caregiver for more information about how to lose weight.
  
  
• Decrease sodium in your diet to less than 2300 mg each day: Sodium is found in table salt and foods that have added salt. A diet that is lower in sodium may decrease blood pressure or prevent high blood pressure. Keep your blood pressure within a normal range to decrease your risk of stroke, heart disease, and heart failure.
  
  
• Include omega-3 fats in your diet: Eat two servings of fish per week. One serving is about four ounces. Fish is a good source of healthy omega-3 fats. Most fish contain some mercury, but many fish contain levels that are not harmful to most people. Higher amounts of mercury can be harmful to pregnant women and children. Children and pregnant women should avoid eating fish high in mercury, such as shark or swordfish. Fish that have lower amounts of mercury include salmon, canned light tuna, and catfish.
  
  
• Include high fiber foods in your diet each day: You can decrease your risk of heart disease by following a diet that is high in fiber. Include fruit and vegetables, legumes (beans), and whole-grain foods in your diet each day to get enough fiber.
  
  
• Limit alcohol: Limit the amount of alcohol you drink. Drinking too much can damage your brain, heart, and liver. The risk of getting high blood pressure and certain types of cancer are greater for people who drink too much alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol also increases the risk of having a stroke. Women should limit alcohol to one drink a day. Men should limit alcohol to two drinks a day. A drink of alcohol is 12 ounces of beer, or five ounces of wine. One and one-half ounces of liquor, such as whiskey, is one drink of alcohol. If you drink alcohol, talk to your caregiver.

What should I avoid eating and drinking while on a heart healthy diet?

Learn to read labels on packaged foods before buying them. Ask your caregiver for more information about how to read food labels. The following foods are high in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

• Bread and other carbohydrates:
  
  
  • High-fat baked goods, such as doughnuts, pastries, cookies, and biscuits.
    
    
  • Chips, snack mixes, regular crackers, and flavored popcorn.
    
    
  • Pretzels, salted nuts (high in sodium).
  
  
• Fruits and vegetables:
  
  
  • Regular, canned vegetables (high in sodium).
    
    
  • Fried vegetables or vegetables in butter or high-fat sauces.
    
    
  • Fried fruit, or fruit served with cream.
  
  
• Dairy:
  
  
  • Whole milk, two percent milk, half-and-half creamer.
    
    
  • Cheese, cream cheese, sour cream.
  
  
• Meats and meat substitutes:
  
  
  • High-fat cuts of meat (T-bone steak, regular hamburger, ribs, bacon, sausage).
    
    
  • Cold cuts and hot dogs.
    
    
  • Whole eggs and egg yolks (limit to three servings or less per week).
  
  
• Fats:
  
  
  • Butter, hard margarine, shortening, partially hydrogenated or tropical (coconut, palm) oils.
    
    
  
  
• Other:
  
  
  • Salt or seasonings made with salt (high in sodium).
    
    
  • Soy sauce, miso soup, canned or dried soups (high in sodium).
    
    
  • Ketchup, barbecue sauce, and other high-sodium sauces.
    
    
  • High-fat gravy and sauces, such as Alfredo or cheese sauces.

What can I eat and drink while on a heart healthy diet?

Ask your dietitian or caregiver how many servings to eat each day from each of the following groups of foods. The amount of servings you should eat from each food group will depend on your daily calorie needs.

• Breads and other carbohydrates:
  
  
  • Whole grain breads, cereals (oatmeal), and pasta.
    
    
  • Brown rice.
    
    
  • Low fat, low-sodium crackers and pretzels.
  
  
• Fruits and vegetables:
  
  
  • Fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables (no salt or low-sodium).
    
    
  • Fresh, frozen, dried, or canned fruit (canned in light syrup or fruit juice).
  
  
• Dairy:
  
  
  • Nonfat (skim), one-half percent, or one percent milk.
    
    
  • Nonfat or low fat yogurt or cottage cheese.
    
    
  • Fat free or low fat cheese.
  
  
• Meats and meat products:
  
  
  • Fish and poultry (chicken, turkey) with no skin.
    
    
  • Lean beef and pork (loin, round, extra lean hamburger).
    
    
  • Dried beans and peas, unsalted nuts, soy products.
    
    
  • Egg whites and substitutes.
  
  
• Fats:
  
  
  • Unsaturated oils (olive, soy, peanut, canola, safflower, sunflower).
    
    
  • Vegetable oil spreads or soft margarine.
    
    
  • Avocado.
  
  
• Other:
  
  
  • Herbs and spices in place of salt.
    
    
  • Low fat snacks (unsalted pretzels, plain popcorn).

What are some other lifestyle changes I should make?

• Do not smoke: Smoking causes lung cancer and other long-term lung diseases. It increases your risk of many cancer types. Smoking also increases your risk of blood vessel disease, heart attack, and vision disorders. Not smoking may help prevent such symptoms as headaches and dizziness for yourself and those around you. Smokers have shorter lifespans than nonsmokers.
  
  
• Exercise regularly: Regular exercise can help improve your cholesterol levels and decrease your risk for coronary artery disease. Regular exercise can also help you reach or maintain a healthy weight. Get 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise or 20 minutes of intense exercise on most days of the week. To lose weight, get at least 60 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. Children should exercise for at least 60 minutes each day. Talk to your caregiver about the best exercise program for you.

Risks of not following a heart healthy diet:

You may develop heart disease if you do not follow a heart healthy diet. High blood cholesterol puts you at a higher risk for heart disease. Untreated high blood pressure may lead to a stroke. It can also lead to a heart attack or heart or kidney failure. Obesity is linked to medical problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. You may need to follow this diet if you already had a heart attack or stroke. You may be more likely to have another stroke or heart attack if you do not follow this diet.

CONTACT A CAREGIVER IF:

You have questions or concerns about your illness, medicine, or this diet.

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The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

Learn more about Healthy Heart Diet (Discharge Care)