Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity Protect from Silent Brain Infarcts in a Cohort of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that Mediterranean diet (MeD) has beneficial effects in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1,2] globally but also in stroke prevention [3,4]. However, there are few data of the influence of MeD in silent brain infarcts (SBI). Physical activity is also a well-known protective factor for CVD and stroke [5]. Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of overt stroke and also SBI. We hypothesize that a healthy lifestyle would reduce the rate of SBI among AF patients . The aim of this study is to determine the association of a healthy profile (the combination of a good MeD adherence plus high level of physical activity ) and the prevalence of SBI in a population with AF.