Chocolate May Decrease Risk of Heart Attack

A study finds that eating chocolate two or more times a week slashes cardiac death by 66%, and that less frequent consumption is also associated with smaller decreased risks.  I. Janszky, from Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden), and colleagues followed 1,169 non-diabetic patients hospitalized with a confirmed first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between 1992 and 1994 in Stockholm County, Sweden, surveying them for their chocolate consumption during the preceding 12 months and conducting a health examination 3 months after discharge. Participants were followed for hospitalizations and mortality with national registries for 8 years.  The researchers found that chocolate consumption was strongly inversely associated with cardiac mortality. The team concludes that: “Chocolate consumption was associated with lower cardiac mortality in a dose dependent manner in patients free of diabetes surviving their first AMI.”