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Background & objectives: Appropriate nutritional behavior is effective in controlling many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of nutrition counseling in improving  nutritional behavior, lifestyle and healthy nutrition in patients with myocardial infarction.
Methods: In this interventional study, 120 patients admitted to the cardiac care units of the hospital, were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into two groups. Data were collected using  MEDFICTS and demographic questionnaires. After running the questionnaire, interventional group (n=60) with a score of more than 70 received nutritional counseling. After the end of nutritional counseling (3 sessions, 90 minutes), the subjects were re-evaluated for nutritional behavior. Data were analyzed using t-test in SPSS20 software.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 62.73±11.56 years, and 53.7% of them were female. The mean MEDFICTS scores before the consultation in the interventional group and control group were 43.2±14.8 and 43.5±18.2, respectively. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.3). The mean MEDFICTS scores at the end of the study in interventional and control groups were 13.14±62.6 and 23.3±2.24, respectively. This difference was significant between groups (p<0.001).
Conclusion: MEDFICTS scores improved in patients with myocardial infarction receiving nutritional counseling. It seems that the operation of nutritional counseling in patients with myocardial infarction can be effective in reducing the incidence of this disease