ESC Congress 2026 Abstract · Oct 26, 2026

Dietary counselling in early post-myocardial infarction cardiac rehabilitation is associated with improved dietary habits and favourable body composition changes

By Popiolek-Kalisz J

Background: Early post–myocardial infarction (MI) cardiac rehabilitation (CR) represents a critical window for secondary prevention. Dietary counselling is routinely implemented, however, data describing concurrent changes in diet quality and body composition during early post-MI CR remain limited. Purpose: To evaluate changes in body composition and dietary habits during early post-MI CR, and to explore associations between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits after MI. Methods: 50 post-MI patients, undergoing a 3 month CR programme including dietary counselling, were enrolled in this prospective study. Baseline and final assessments included body composition (BMI, fat mass, fat-free mass proportions) and dietary information including Mediterranean diet adherence, overall diet quality and nutritional knowledge assessed with validated questionaries. Results: In patients undergoing CR BMI decreased from 27.17 [25.46; 29.41] to 26.81 [24.77; 28.73] (p<0.001), body fat percentage decreased from 38.23 [33.09; 41.18] to 36.90 [32.81; 38.75] % (p<0.001), and fat free mass percentage increased from 61.77 [58.82; 66.91] to 63.10 [61.25; 67.19] % (p<0.001). Dietary habits improved, with Mediterranean diet adherence increasing from 5.00 [4.00; 7.00] to 7.00 [6.00; 8.00] points (p<0.001) and overall diet quality index increasing from 5.87 [−0.04; 17.39] to 15.21 [5.61; 23.70] points (p=0.005). The nutritional knowledge score did not change significantly (13.50 [11.00; 16.00] vs 15.00 [12.00; 18.00] points; p=0.110). At follow-up, nutritional knowledge correlated with Mediterranean diet adherence (R=0.441; p=0.001) and overall diet quality (R=0.286; p=0.044). Conclusion: During early post-MI CR with dietary counselling, patients demonstrated significant improvements in dietary habits alongside favourable body composition changes. Despite not significant changes in nutritional knowledge itself, the final knowledge score was associated with better dietary adherence and quality, supporting the clinical relevance of educational components within CR programmes.

doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag785.4241 Open access Interventions