A new research has found that providing advice over a five-year period about leading a healthy lifestyle could reduced the risk of heart-related deaths over the next 40 years.
The participants were advised to decrease the intake of saturated fats and increase fish and vegetable products. In addition, the overweight individuals were advised to reduce their weight and smokers were advised to stop smoking.
Those who received the advice showed a sustained 29 percent reduced risk of death at first heart attack compared with individuals who did not receive the advice, for up to 40 years. Death from any cause decreased in the period 8 to 20 years after randomization, but not thereafter.
Dr. Ingar Holme, the lead author of the Journal of Internal Medicine, said successful lifestyle intervention on diet and antismoking for five years in middle-aged men may give life-long benefits with regard to death from myocardial infarction.
The study is published in the of Journal of Internal Medicine.