MedDiet adherence doesn't affect acute heart failure mortality

(HealthDay)—For patients with acute heart failure, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) does not influence long-term mortality, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in JACC: Heart Failure.

Òscar Miró, Ph.D., from the University of Barcelona in Spain, and colleagues conducted a prospective study involving patients with acute heart failure in seven Spanish emergency departments. Data were included for 991 patients, of whom 52.9 percent were adherent to the MedDiet.

The researchers observed no significant differences in survival between adherent and nonadherent patients after a mean follow-up of 2.1 ± 1.3 years (hazard ratio of adherents [HR_adh], 0.86; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 1.02). For the whole cohort, the one-year cumulative emergency department revisit was 24.5 percent (HR_adh, 1.10; 95 percent CI, 0.84 to 1.42), hospitalization 43.7 percent (HR_adh, 0.74; 95 percent CI, 0.61 to 0.90), death 22.7 percent (HR_adh, 1.05; 95 percent CI, 0.8 to 1.38), and combined end point 66.8 percent (HR_adh, 0.89; 95 percent CI, 0.76 to 1.04). Similar results were seen after adjustment for confounding variables, with no statistically significant differences in mortality (HR_adh, 0.94; 95 percent CI, 0.80 to 1.13); lower one-year hospitalization for adherents persisted (HR_adh, 0.76; 95 percent CI, 0.62 to 0.93).

"Adherence to the MedDiet did not influence long-term mortality after an episode of acute heart failure, but it was associated with decreased rates of rehospitalization during the next year," the authors write.

The research group received funding from Orion Pharma and Novartis.