Skipping breakfast, eating dinner late may increase risk of death in heart attack survivors

People who skip breakfast and eat dinner near bedtime have worse outcomes after a heart attack, according to research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The study found that people with the two eating habits had a four to five times higher likelihood of death, another heart attack, or angina (chest pain) within 30 days after hospital discharge for heart attack.

The study enrolled patients with a particularly serious form of heart attack called ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It included 113 patients with a mean age of 60, and 73% were men. Patients were asked about eating behaviors on admission to a coronary intensive care unit. Skipping breakfast was defined as nothing before lunch, excluding beverages, such as coffee and water, at least three times per week. Late-night dinner eating was defined as a meal within two hours before bedtime at least three times per week. The researchers noted that late-night dinner eating was defined by the two-hour interval between dinner and bedtime, rather than eating late at night. But nearly all participants with this habit were late-eaters.

The researchers found that 58% of the participants reported skipping breakfasts, 51% reported late-night dinner eating, and 41% reported both behaviors. Previous studies have found that people who miss breakfast and have a late dinner are more likely to have other unhealthy habits such as smoking and low levels of physical activity.

“Our research shows that the two eating behaviors are independently linked with poorer outcomes after a heart attack but having a cluster of bad habits will only make things worse,” said study author Marcos Minicucci of Sao Paolo State University. “We also think that the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and endothelial function could be involved in the association between unhealthy eating behaviors and cardiovascular outcomes.”

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