New research presented presented as a late-breaking trial at the American College of Cardiogy (ACC) 2023 annual meeting shows that long-term intermittent fasting improved outcomes for individuals with COVID-19 who also have a history of heart disease.
“We already know that regular fasting over long periods of time can lead to overall health improvements. Here we found that it may also lead to better outcomes in COVID-19 patients who required a cardiac catheterization,” said Benjamin Horne, PhD, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain Health, in a statement about the study. “Fasting won’t necessarily stop a cardiac event from happening, but it may prevent someone from developing heart failure after.”
The research draws on patient data from the Intermountain INSPIRE registry, focusing on the 464 people from the registry who both had a cardiac catheterization procedure between February 2013 and March 2020 and who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 6, 2020 and April 8, 2022.
Of those 464 people, 29% had reported that they fasted routinely, for an average of 42.7 years. The routine fasters had a lower rate of heart-related hospitalization, complications, and death than those who said they did not fast routinely.
Many of the patients who reported fasting belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which holds a religious tradition of going without food or drink for two consecutive meals on the first Sunday of every month.
“These results show that long-term, low-frequency fasting can help prevent heart failure, even in patients who have both COVID-19 and heart problems already,” said Horne said.
While more research is necessary to understand the specific benefits of intermittent fasting toward protecting against heart disease, the researchers point to the facts that fasting can both reduce inflammation and promote autophagy, the process by which the body cleans out old or damaged cells.
Before starting a new fasting practice, the researchers recommend consulting with a doctor.