Researchers say it’s the first large, international study to show eating a heart-healthy diet can help prevent another heart attack and stroke in people already on medications to treat high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels .

“It doesn’t matter what type of medication you take, if you follow a healthy diet you will get benefits,” says researcher Mahshid Dehghan, PhD, research associate at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. “Eating fruits and vegetables substantially reduces cardiovascular disease recurrence over and above medication alone.”

The study shows people who ate the most heart-healthy diet had a:

A new study shows older people with established heart disease who ate the most heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts had a much lower risk of dying or having another heart attack or stroke than those who ate the unhealthiest diet.

Dec. 5, 2012 -- It’s never too late to start reaping the benefits of a heart -healthy diet.

Healthy Diet Better Than Drugs Alone

The study followed 31,546 adults ages 55 and older in 14 countries who were enrolled in two separate clinical trials of blood pressure-lowering medications. All of the people had a history of heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, or diabetes with organ damage. All of them were considered at high risk for heart attack, stroke, or other heart-related complication.

Researchers asked them about how often they ate foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, meat, poultry, and dairy products in the past 12 months.

Diets were given an overall heart-healthy score based on how frequently people ate healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Higher scores were also given to diets that included a higher amount of fish relative to meat, poultry, and eggs and those that included whole grains and fewer deep-fried foods.

During nearly five years of follow-up, 5,190 heart- or stroke-related problems were reported in the study.

The results showed those who ate the most heart-healthy diets had lower risk of heart disease, stroke, or death due to either condition compared to those who ate the most unhealthy diets, regardless of the type or combination of heart medications they took or their nationality, income level, age, or other heart disease risk factors.

Experts say many studies have already proven the benefits of eating a heart-healthy diet in preventing heart disease in healthy people.

But this study is noteworthy because it is the first major, international study to show heart-healthy diets also benefit those who are already on medication for existing heart disease.