The role of diet in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States. A healthy diet can improve multiple CVD risk factors, and is an effective strategy for CVD prevention that can be used in conjunction with current standard-of-care pharmaceutical interventions. Dietary recommendations have historically focused on macronutrient targets, but have recently shifted toward a whole food, dietary pattern approach. Evidence-based dietary patterns (e.g., the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, Mediterranean-style diets, and certain vegetarian diets) can modify multiple CVD risk factors, and generally emphasize nutrient-dense foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, oily fish, nuts and seeds, lean meat, low-fat/skim dairy products, and liquid vegetable oils) in place of foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars. This chapter reviews current dietary guidelines for minimizing CVD risk, and discusses the role of both macronutrients and evidence-based dietary patterns in preventing and treating CVD.