The fried foods, salty snacks and meats that are staples of the Western diet account for about 30 percent of heart attack risk across the world, a new report suggests.

Meanwhile, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, the so-called "Prudent" diet, is tied a low risk of heart attack, according to the study, published in the Oct. 21 issue of Circulation.

The research, which looked at dietary habits in 52 countries, found people who ate a Western diet had a 35 percent greater risk of having a heart attack compared to those who ate little or no fried foods and meat. Those who followed a "Prudent" diet had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to those who went light on fruits and vegetables.

The authors also looked at an "Oriental" diet, rich in tofu, soy and other sauces, and found it did not increase or decrease the risk of a heart attack.

Previous studies have reached similar conclusions about the "Prudent" and Western diet in the United States and Europe, but did not include the Oriental pattern of eating. While some components of the Oriental diet may protect against heart trouble, the higher sodium content of sauces counter that benefit.

"This study indicates that the same relationships that are observed in Western countries exist in different regions of the world," study senior author Salim Yusuf, a professor of medicine at McMaster University and director of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, said in an American Heart Association news release.

The Canadian researchers analyzed risk factors in food choices and the risk of heart attack in about 16,000 people in 52 countries. Almost 6,000 people had heart attacks, while the rest had no known heart disease.

一項最新研究報告稱，以油炸食品、高鹽食品和肉食為主的西式飲食易引發心臟病，目前全世界約30%的心臟病是由這種飲食方式引起的。

同時，研究表明，富含水果和蔬菜的“謹慎飲食”則能夠降低患心臟病的風險。該研究報告在本月21日的《人體循環》雜志上發表。

該項飲食習慣調查在52個國家開展。調查結果顯示，以西式飲食為主的人患心臟病的幾率比很少或不吃油炸食品和肉類的人高35%；而飲食“謹慎”者患心臟病的幾率則比少食蔬菜水果的人低30%。

研究人員還研究了多吃豆腐、醬油和其他調料的“東方飲食”，結果發現這種飲食結構對心臟病發率沒什么影響。

此前在美國和歐洲開展的有關“謹慎飲食”和西式飲食的研究也得出過類似結論，但都未涉及東方飲食。東方飲食結構中的一些成分能夠保護心臟，但醬類中的高鈉成分則又會抵消這一作用。

麥克斯馬特大學醫藥學教授、位于安大略省的漢密爾頓人口健康科學研究所所長薩利姆•尤薩夫在美國心臟協會的新聞發布會上說：“這項研究表明，西方國家所發現的飲食結構和心臟健康的關系在其他地區同樣存在。”

加拿大研究人員研究了52個國家的約1.6萬人，對他們飲食選擇中的危險因素和患心臟病的風險進行了分析，其中近6000人患有心臟病，其他人無心臟疾病。