Healthy food helps patients bounce back after heart failure

Food can sometimes feel like a challenge to manage, but for people living with heart failure, it can mean the difference between recovery and relapse.

A new study shows that providing healthy, medically tailored meals or fresh produce boxes – alongside nutritional guidance – can improve quality of life for those recently hospitalized with heart failure.

The power of food after heart failure

Heart failure doesn’t end when a patient leaves the hospital. Managing the condition depends heavily on lifestyle changes, especially diet.

Study lead author Dr. Ambarish Pandey is an associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Cardiology and Geriatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

“People with heart failure can often experience their condition worsening if they are not eating the right kind of food after they go home from the hospital,” said Dr. Pandey.

The right diet provides essential nutrients and limits sodium, sugar, and fat—factors critical to maintaining stable health after discharge.

Testing food-based care

Researchers enrolled 150 adults who had recently been hospitalized for acute heart failure.

Participants were divided into three groups. One group received medically tailored meals and counseling with a dietitian. Another received boxes of fresh produce and the same counseling.

The third group only received dietary counseling without food delivery. The programs lasted for 90 days.

Each food delivery group was also split in two. In one subgroup, participants only received food if they picked up their medications and attended follow-up appointments.

In the other subgroup, food deliveries continued regardless of these actions. This design helped researchers understand whether linking food access to medication adherence and clinic visits affected outcomes.

Food during heart failure recovery

The findings were clear: those who received either prepared meals or fresh produce reported a higher quality of life than those who received counseling alone.

This was measured through responses to the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, a tool that gauges how heart failure affects daily life.

Participants in the “conditional” delivery group – who had to collect prescriptions to qualify for food – reported an even higher quality of life than those who received food unconditionally.

Among those getting food, people who received produce boxes were more satisfied than those who received prepared meals. Being able to cook and choose how to use the fresh produce seemed to add a sense of control and satisfaction.

Hospital readmissions and emergency visits didn’t differ significantly between groups. Over the 90-day study, 18% of participants had one or more readmissions or emergency visits for heart failure, totaling 32 events across all groups.

Food’s healing potential

Dr. Pandey noted that the findings indicate the potential for healthy foods to affect outcomes and disease progression for people with chronic conditions like heart failure.

“If we can identify the best strategy for providing access to healthy food, this could be transformative for people with heart failure who are particularly vulnerable after hospitalization,” said Dr. Pandey.

“I think healthy food can be as powerful as medications for people with chronic conditions like heart failure,” he added.

Nutrition and long-term wellness

Access to healthy food remains a key determining factor to health in general. Food insecurity and nutrition insecurity increase the risk of chronic diseases and affect worse outcomes.

According to the American Heart Association, a review of “Food Is Medicine” trials showed that programs combining healthy food with healthcare services improve diet quality and food security for people with or at high risk for chronic diseases.

Rethinking healthcare through nutrition

This study reinforces the notion that health isn’t just about prescriptions and procedures – it’s also about what’s on the plate.

Delivering healthy food to patients directly would indeed reduce pressure on hospitals and change lives for long after they have been discharged.

At its core, the message is powerful in its simplicity: access to healthy food can change lives. For people battling heart failure, eating well isn’t just about nutrition – it’s a vital part of healing and staying well.

The research was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025.

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