Diet after a heart attack

Myocardial infarction -a serious complication of ischemic heart disease requiring complex treatment, in which proper nutrition plays a crucial role. To this end, dietitians have developed a special therapeutic diet after a heart attack.

Causes, Symptoms and Features of Nutrition After Heart Attack ^

Myocardial infarction develops against a background of clotting with a blood clot( thrombus) of the coronary artery. At the same time, oxygen supply to the tissue of the heart is broken, cell death occurs, and a scar is formed at the site of the cardiac catastrophe.

Atherosclerosis is considered the main culprit in the occurrence of a heart attack. However, there are other factors that significantly increase the likelihood of the disease:

• Obesity, overweight, hypodynamia.
• The male gender. Women suffer from a heart attack after 50 years already on a par with men.
• Heredity.
• Smoking.
• Elevated blood cholesterol leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. They cover the vessel.
• Hypertension.
• Diabetes mellitus.

The main symptom of myocardial infarction is severe pain in the center of the chest. Even at rest, the pain is burning, pressing, resembling angina, but more pronounced. Painful sensations can give to different parts of the body.

Infarction attack is often accompanied by lack of oxygen, suffocation, heart rhythm disturbances( interruptions), nausea or vomiting. However, sometimes it happens that the disease is detected only when passing echocardiography. Most often, an asymptomatic infarction, not accompanied by pain, occurs in diabetic patients.

Features of therapeutic nutrition with a heart attack

Restoring health after a heart attack is not an easy task, it requires a set of measures, including medication, physical therapy, rejection of bad habits and therapeutic nutrition.

• The diet after the infarction was transferred by the institute of a food( a diet №10).The therapeutic menu is aimed at improving blood circulation, normalizing metabolic processes, improving the performance of the cardiovascular system, liver and kidneys.
• The energy of the diet is reduced by fat and carbohydrates. Excludes heavy food, foods that excite the nervous system, irritating the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys and causing flatulence.
• In the priority are products rich in lyotropic substances, potassium and magnesium. Food is prepared by dietary methods( stewing, cooking, steaming, baking) and without salt. The liquid is limited to 1.2 liters.
• Dietary nutrition is aimed at eliminating the causes that caused the disease. To lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, it is recommended to exclude fatty protein foods from the diet. Limiting salt reduces the risk of hypertension.
• Patients with overweight are vital to lose weight. This will not only reduce excessive stress on weakened cardiac muscles, but also normalizes lipid metabolism.

Recommended products:

• Vegetarian first courses;
• Low-fat fish and poultry;
• Uncomfortable pastries and daily bread or biscuits;
• Dairy products;
• Dishes from macaroni( not of the highest grade), cereals;
• Baked or boiled vegetables;
• Honey;
• Fruits, berries.

Prohibited food :

• Baking, fresh bread;
• Filled broths( from mushrooms, meat, fish);
• Fatty meat, kidneys, smoked products, sausages;
• Marinades, salted fish and cheese;
• Beans;
• Rough fiber;
• Tea( strong), coffee and chocolate.

Myocardial scarring occurs in 3 weeks. During this period, the diet is strictly controlled by a doctor. Dietary food is served without salt, in a cleaned form. Portions are small, but food intake is recommended up to 8 times a day. The diet is composed mainly of liquid cereals, vegetable soups and low-calorie dairy products. Caloric content does not exceed 1000 kcal.

After discharge from the hospital, the ration becomes less strict, but salt, fatty foods, strong coffee and tea, alcohol and confectionery remain still banned. The daily calorific value of the patient should be about 1400 kcal.

Given the characteristics of the body, a diet for each patient is made by a doctor individually. For example, a diet after a heart attack for women, to a greater extent( than for men) is aimed at reducing blood sugar. The diet after a heart attack for men focuses on lowering cholesterol. In both cases, the diet may differ, but it is made up of allowed products and the restrictions are the same.

Diet after infarction: approximate menu and features ^

Feeding the patient should be frequent and divided and carried out in 7-8 receptions per day.

Sample menu in the acute period after the seizure may be as follows:

• Compote without sugar, from prunes, 1/2 cup low-calorie kefir.
• Grilled cereal in milk, half a cup of carrot juice + a teaspoon of olive oil, grated apple.
• Chicken breast( 50 g.), Broth of dogrose.
• Half a cup of carrot juice with olive oil.
• A piece of steam fish( 50 g.) And vegetable broth.
• Half a cup of jelly.
• Rubbed low-fat cottage cheese and half a glass of black currant juice. How many yogurt.

Gradually the diet expands, but the food remains fractional. From 2-4 weeks, the diet can look like this:

• A glass of decoction from the dog rose. Porridge buckwheat, not rubbed. Salad from greens, cucumbers and tomatoes, tea with a spoonful of sugar.
• Vegetarian borscht, boiled chicken and rice, freshly squeezed apple juice.
• Curd with a teaspoon of sugar, pear, compote.
• Vegetable puree, a piece of fish, tea.
• Milk and croutons.
• Cottage cheese with raisins and a teaspoon of sour cream, apple, tea. Kefir and steamed prunes.

To improve the patient's condition, the daily calorie content increases to 2,200 kcal. You can switch to four meals a day, making up your own menu of allowed products, gradually including salt.

The diet after a large heart attack for the recovery period should contain no more than 10% of fats, about 30% protein and 60% complex carbohydrates. Meals are also four meals a day, up to 7 gr.salt, before going to bed you can drink fermented milk or yogurt. It is recommended to drink 3 cups of water and receive the same portion of liquid with the products.

The diet after a heart attack and stenting is recommended by a doctor individually. Its goal is to reduce cholesterol and the risk of plaque formation. Therefore, the content of animal fats is reduced to a minimum. The level of cholesterol will have to be watched especially carefully.

Results, recommendations and feedback from physicians on therapeutic nutrition after a heart attack ^

Strict adherence to the diet will shorten the period of illness and rehabilitation. The results of the diet after a heart attack are quite positive, because thanks to it, the patient can return to the usual way of life in a shorter period. It is especially good if the patient develops proper eating habits.

Reviews of doctors about the diet after a heart attack are only positive. Excluded from the diet are products that cause hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, and caloric restriction is aimed at weight reduction, the culprit of many cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiologists consider an acceptable Mediterranean diet for the prevention of heart attack. Use in the diet of fatty fish, poultry meat, olive oil, garlic, cereals, nuts, green vegetables, fruits, hard wheat products supports the elasticity of blood vessels and reliably protects from cardiovascular problems.

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