Study: Intermittent fasting could lead to higher risk of cardiovascular death

Gugs Mhlungu spoke to Cardiologist and former president of the South African Heart Association, Dr David Jankelow.

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death across the world.

A new study has found that intermittent fasting could lead to a much higher risk of cardiovascular death.

The study was conducted by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China where they looked at the popular diet plan that limits eating to a specific number of hours a day.

Around 20,000 adults formed part of the study.

According to an article on Sky News,"The analysis also found there was an increased risk of cardiovascular death seen in people living with heart disease or cancer, and that among people with existing cardiovascular disease, an eating duration between 8-10 hours per day was associated with a 66% higher risk of death from heart disease or stroke.”

The findings of the study were presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) scientific sessions recently but the full study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, says Jankelow.

He explains that previous research conducted on intermittent fasting has shown that this type of eating plan increases weight loss and improves blood pressure.

"I don't believe that this should cause mass panic at all but we need to wait for the nitty gritty, the actual detail, but it is very interesting."

- Dr David Jankelow, Cardiologist and former president of the South African Heart Association

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.