Background: Traditional practice requires fasting before cardiac catheterization, but there's no evidence to support it.

Objective: This study compared a heart-healthy pre-procedure diet with fasting to determine best practices.

Methods: 197 patients were randomly assigned to either a heart-healthy diet or fasting before their cardiac catheterization.

Results:

Satisfaction: Patients on the heart-healthy diet were significantly more satisfied than those who fasted.

Symptoms: Those in the diet group reported less thirst and hunger before and after the procedure.

Safety: No difference in complications (pneumonia, aspiration, intubation, hypoglycemia) was observed between groups.

Other outcomes: Fatigue, glucose levels, gastrointestinal issues, and antiplatelet medication doses were similar between groups.

Conclusion: Providing a heart-healthy diet before cardiac catheterization is safe and improves patient satisfaction without increasing complications.

Future Considerations:

Larger, multicenter studies are encouraged to validate and replicate these findings.

The study prompts a reconsideration of fasting protocols for other procedural situations beyond cardiac catheterization.

Reference Link: https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2024115