High-fat meals are hard on your heart, confirms a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In general eating a high-fat diet and having high triglyceride levels (triglycerides measure fat in the blood) place a person at risk for cardiovascular disease and heart attack.

Japanese and American researchers tested the blood flow to the heart of 15 young men before and after they consumed a high-fat meal. Within five hours after the high-fat meal, triglyceride levels increased significantly and blood flow decreased significantly in all men. As a comparison some of the men were tested at a different time with a low-fat meal. After eating the low-fat meal, the men's triglyceride levels increased only slightly and blood flow to the heart actually increased.

The results of this study and numerous others indicate that eating high-fat meals adversely affects heart function. If you have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or have risk factors such as a family history of heart attacks or high triglyceride levels, your doctor may recommend that you consume a low-fat diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Related information: DASH diet | Cholesterol

Sources:  Hozumi T, Eisenberg M, Sugioka K, Kokkirala AR, Watanabe H. Teragaki M, Yoshikawa J, Homma S. Change in coronary flow reserve on transthoracic Doppler echocardiography after a single high-fat meal in young healthy men. Annals of Internal Medicine, April 2002, Vol. 136, No. 7.