Olive Oil Eases Ride for Bypass Patients

If you or a family member are scheduled for heart bypass surgery , stock up on the olive oil.

That's the advice of Greek researchers who found that an olive-oil-rich
diet may lower the risk of having a
heart attack or
stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease in the month after heart
surgery.

"There's a lot of research showing that olive oil may help protect
healthy people from developing
heart disease , but very few studies looking at the role of olive oil in
people who already have cardiovascular disease," says Dennis Cokkinos, MD,
professor of cardiology at the University of Athens.

Olive oil is a cornerstone of the heart-healthy
Mediterranean diet that's also rich in veggies, legumes, and nuts, says
American Heart Association spokesman Russell Luepker, MD, of the University of
Minnesota.

"From a nutritional point of view, olive oil is good for you -- and your
heart," he tells WebMD.

Cokkinos says that olive oil is rich in antioxidants and "good"
monounsaturated fatty acids, both of which pack a punch against heart
disease.

More Olive Oil, Fewer Risks

The new study involved 163 men and 53 women undergoing scheduled, non-urgent
open-heart surgery. The vast majority were having operations to bypass
plaque-clogged arteries that were cutting off the blood supply to the
heart.

Participants were asked how much olive oil they generally consumed in daily
cooking as well as about consumption of other vegetable oils, butter, and
margarine.

A total of 15% of the men and 9% of the women had a heart attack or stroke
or, in rare cases, died from heart disease in the 30 days after surgery.

Results showed that patients who consumed less than 1 tablespoon a day of
oil in daily cooking were four times more likely to have a heart attack or
stroke or die from cardiac disease compared with those who consumed more than 3
tablespoons a day.

Using olive oil to the exclusion of other vegetable oils, butter, and
margarine also significantly slashed heart disease risks , Cokkinos says.

The link between olive oil and fewer heart problems remained true even after
the researchers took into account other heart risk factors such as age,
high blood pressure ,
high cholesterol ,
smoking ,
obesity , and
diabetes .

Cokkinos notes that cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins
have proven benefits in reducing the risk of future cardiovascular woes in
people with heart disease.

"This is a more gentle way to do it," he says.

By Charlene Laino
Reviewed by Louise Chang
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