IDENTIFYING AND COMPARING NUTRITIONAL BEHAVIOR OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION PATIENTS BEFORE AND TWO MONTHS AFTER NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING IN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS

Abstract

Background: Myocardial infarction is a start for many heart problems that can make a patient refer to
treatment centers long after discharge the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of
nutritional counseling on nutritional behavior.
Materials and Methods: 120 patients who were admitted to cardiac intensive care units of selected
after stroke were selected and were randomly assigned into two groups. If the total MEDFICS score in
each group is higher than or equal to 70, nutritional behavior will need to be modified, if it is less than
40, the diet will be TLC, and if it is between 40-70, it will be heart-healthy diet. Subjects whose score
was above 70 were referred to nutrition counseling classes.
Results: After two months, the mean MEDFICS score in the experimental group (62.4 ± 07.6) was
significantly lower than that of the control group (4.22 ± 3.65). The results of the independent t-test
after the intervention showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (P
<0.001). It showed an improvement in nutritional behavior in the experimental group after the
intervention.
Conclusion: the research hypothesis that states the nutritional behavior of patients improves after
implementation of the nutritional counseling program is accepted with a 95% confidence interval.