Available studies show convincingly the health benefits of lifestyle changes in CAD patients .
Effect estimates of combined dietary changes look promising .
BACKGROUND Guidelines for lifestyle and dietary modification in patients with coronary artery disease ( CAD ) are mainly supported by evidence from general population studies .
CAD patients , however , differ from the general population in age ( older ) and treatment with preventive drugs .
This review seeks to provide evidence for a prognostic benefit of lifestyle and dietary recommendations from studies in CAD patients .
Dietary sodium intake and subsequent risk of cardiovascular disease in overweight adults.
CONTEXT Dietary sodium is positively associated with blood pressure , and ecological and animal studies both have suggested that high dietary sodium intake increases stroke mortality . OBJECTIVE To examine the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with dietary sodium intake in overweight and nonoverweight persons . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING The first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study , conducted in 1982 - 1984 , 1986 , 1987 , and 1992 . PARTICIPANTS Of those aged 25 to 74 years when the survey was conducted in 1971 -1975 ( 14407 participants ) , a total of 2688 overweight and 6797 nonoverweight persons were included in the analysis . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES  Dietary sodium and energy intake  were estimated at baseline using a single 24-hour dietary recall method .  Incidence and mortality data for cardiovascular disease were obtained from medical records and death certificates . RESULTS For overweight and nonoverweight persons , over an average of 19 years of follow-up , the total number of documented cases were as follows : 680 stroke events ( 210 fatal ) , 1727 coronary heart disease events ( 614 fatal ) , 895 cardiovascular disease deaths , and 2486 deaths from all causes . Among overweight persons with an average energy intake of 7452 kJ , a 100 mmol higher sodium intake was associated with a 32 % increase ( relative risk [ RR ] , 1.32 ; 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 1.07 - 1.64 ; P = .01 ) in stroke incidence , 89 % increase ( RR , 1.89 ; 95 % CI , 1.31 - 2.74 ; P<.001 ) in stroke mortality , 44 % increase ( RR , 1.44 ; 95 % CI , 1.14 - 1.81 ; P = .002 ) in coronary heart disease mortality , 61 % increase ( RR , 1.61 ; 95 % CI , 1.32 - 1.96 ; P<.001 ) in cardiovascular disease mortality , and 39 % increase ( RR , 1.39 ; 95 % CI , 1.23 - 1.58 ; P<.001 ) in mortality from all causes . Dietary sodium intake was not significantly associated with cardiovascular disease risk in nonoverweight persons . CONCLUSIONS Our analysis indicates that high sodium intake is strongly and independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in overweight persons
Available studies show convincingly the health benefits of lifestyle changes in CAD patients .
Effect estimates of combined dietary changes look promising .
BACKGROUND Guidelines for lifestyle and dietary modification in patients with coronary artery disease ( CAD ) are mainly supported by evidence from general population studies .
CAD patients , however , differ from the general population in age ( older ) and treatment with preventive drugs .
This review seeks to provide evidence for a prognostic benefit of lifestyle and dietary recommendations from studies in CAD patients .