If you've been skipping breakfast and having dinner right before bed, you might have to rethink your lifestyle.
According to research, you have a higher risk of experiencing a heart attack for the second time immediately after recovery from the first one.
The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) revealed that if heart attack survivors who possess both eating habits have their likelihood of death increased by four to five times.
What's more, keeping to this lifestyle can lead you to experience a second heart attack or chest pain. Even after 30 days of hospitalization from the first one.
The study was conducted on 113 heart attack survivors. They aged between 60 with 73% of them were male. All of them were quizzed on their eating habits.
Based on the research's findings, 58% of the patients were observed to have skipped breakfast while 51% had late-night dinner and 41% practised both lifestyles.
Many of these patients skipped breakfast entirely at least three times a week with some being late eaters.
"One in ten patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) dies within a year, and nutrition is a relatively inexpensive and easy way to improve prognosis," Dr Marcos Minicucci, of São Paolo State University, Brazil says. He is the author of the study.
So the trick is to have a two hour interval between dinner time and bed.
"It is said that the best way to live is to breakfast like a king. A good breakfast is usually composed of dairy products (fat-free or low fat milk, yogurt and cheese), a carbohydrate (whole wheat bread, bagels, cereals), and whole fruits. It should have 15 to 35% of our total daily calorie intake," Dr Minicucci says.
To make matters worst, if you're someone who smokes and do not exercise, your risk of a heart attack only goes up.
"Our research shows that the two eating behaviours are independently linked with poorer outcomes after a heart attack, but having a cluster of bad habits will only make things worse," Dr Minicucci says.
Based on their findings, among those who're prone to this lifestyle are those who work late into the nights.
If you practise this, perhaps it's time to rethink your life's choices?