Olive Oil Can Revive an Ailing Heart

Scientists have found that oleate, a common healthy fat found in the oil can help a diseased heart muscle work better.

Experts have hailed the “exciting” findings and say they are further proof that eating a diet rich in good fats can dramatically improve and protect heart health. And they said there was even a benefit in consuming the staple of the Mediterranean diet even after heart disease has set in.

Dr. Douglas Lewandowski, director of the University of Illinois Centre For Cardiovascular Research in the US, said: “This gives more proof to the idea that consuming healthy fats like oleate can have a significantly positive effect on cardiac health.” Around 750, 000 people in Britain suffer from heart failure.

Heart failure is a chronic and incurable disease which occurs when the organ is damaged, either suddenly following a heart attack or gradually over a number of years for reasons including heart disease, long-term high blood pressure, alcohol or recreational drugs.

Once damaged it becomes enlarged, or hypertrophic, in response to the high blood pressure which requires it to work harder to pump blood.

Source: National Mirror