Research published in the European Heart Journal has found that the consumption of fruits and vegetables may be associated with a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), one of the leading causes of death in Europe.

Lead author Francesca Crowe and his colleagues from the University of Oxford analyzed data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heart study, which compiled information on 300,000 people in eight different countries. Among these individuals, there were 1,636 deaths from IHD.

The team found that there was a four percent lower risk of death from IHD among those who consumed the highest amount of fruits and vegetables. However, they emphasized that these people also had other healthy eating habits and lifestyles, which may add to the positive effect.

"Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal IHD," the authors explained. "Moving to a diet that emphasizes fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health."The American Heart Association estimates that as many as 4 million Americans suffer from IHD each year.