Healthy diet for elderly patients with cardiovascular disease

At present, there are 290 million patients with cardiovascular diseases in China, including about 13 million with stroke, about 11 million with coronary heart disease, and about 270 million with hypertension. This number is still rising . Cardiovascular disease is a common chronic disease among the elderly, with the characteristics of "high incidence, high disability, high mortality, easy recurrence, and many complications". It is an important risk factor threatening the health and longevity of the elderly.

The occurrence and prognosis of cardiovascular disease are closely related to lifestyle, including diet and nutrition. Improving diet and lifestyle is a basic measure for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Elderly cardiovascular patients need to pay attention to the following points:

Dietary needs

When elderly people suffer from cardiovascular disease, their diet should control total energy and rationally choose the proportion of nutritional elements on the basis of meeting the daily necessary nutrients. A healthy lifestyle combined with drug treatment can help delay the course of the disease, reduce complications, and curb the occurrence of sudden cardiovascular events.

Dietary principles

The main principles that elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases need to follow in terms of diet and nutrition include eating small and soft meals frequently, drinking plenty of water, maintaining a suitable body weight, consuming adequate food, and encouraging family meals.

Dietary recommendations

Elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases should choose food according to the different nutrients they contain. It is recommended to eat more fish and fish oil, vegetables and fruits, foods rich in linoleic acid and potassium, foods rich in plant sterols and dietary fiber, whole grains, unsalted nuts, foods rich in folic acid, and soy products; eat less or no foods containing saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, cholesterol, and high salt.

Based on the characteristics of each food, the following is a list of foods that are suitable for elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases to eat and foods that should be avoided for your reference: