Women can reduce their heart attack risk by more than half, if they eat proper diet based on fruits and vegetables, drink moderate amount of alcohol, according to a new study. Eating right, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active and not smoking also play significant role in avoiding heart problems.

Diet and lifestyle can have a huge effect on heart health, especially for women, said the researchers from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Coronary heart disease is the most significant cause of disability and death in women.

Dr Agneta Akesson, from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm said, “If women adopted this simple healthy diet and lifestyle factors, most heart attacks (77 %) could be avoided.”

The research conclusions were made after tracking the diet and health of a group of postmenopausal women including nearly 25 thousand women for 6 years.

The medical records of the subjects showed that those who followed the diet comprised of fruits and vegetables were 60% less likely to suffer from heart ailments. Non-smokers, who followed it and also reduced the risk by 90%. Results showed that women, who ate plenty of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain foods, fish, beans, and small amounts of alcohol, were 57 % less prone to heart attack.

During study, 308 women had a heart attack and out of which 51 were fatal.

The report presented by Akesson said, “The combined benefit of diet, lifestyle, and healthy body weight may prevent more than three of four cases of MI (heart attack) in our study population.”