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The link between diet and heart disease is commonly known, but a chasm exits between our knowledge and our application of this knowledge. We know that certain foods are harmful, yet we continue to eat them. We know that exercise will help keep our hearts strong, yet we remain woefully sedentary.

It is a difficult gap to bridge. Ironically, as we become more health-conscious as a nation, we are becoming dangerously obese and unhealthy. According to recent statistics, 59,700,000 Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease. An astonishing 2,600 Americans die each day of coronary vascular diseases—that´s an average of one death every 33 seconds.

Nutritional Strategies to Stamp Out Heart Disease—Prevention Is the Key

Research presented in November at the American Heart Association´s 72nd Scientific Sessions in Atlanta indicate that it is realistic and certainly possible to combat heart disease via diet. As we enter the new millennium, as nutrition and medicine intersect, it is within the realm of prevention that optimal health can be achieved. Armed with a new set of knowledge tools, individuals can target specific nutritional strategies to combat heart disease before it strikes.

The American Heart Association proceedings, "Prevention Conference V, Beyond Secondary Prevention: Identifying the High-Risk Patient for Primary Prevention," published last month in Circulation, summarized specific tactics to identify high-risk people who do not have coronary heart disease and are candidates for primary prevention therapy. Methods to predict risk of developing heart disease for these people were outlined in the article.

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