A new study found that periodic fasting may extend the life of patients with heart problems.
The concept, known as "intermittent fasting," involves stopping eating or drinking for the majority of the day, if not all day.
The researchers found that patients who underwent catheterization to treat a cardiovascular problem and had intermittent fasting lived longer than those who did not fast.
The team at the Intermountain Healthcare Institute in the US state of Ota found that intermittent fasting patients were less likely to be diagnosed with heart failure.
The team conducted previous research on people with diabetes and found that rates of coronary heart disease were lower in those who had intermittent fasting.
The results suggest that the effects of chronic diseases, which have been developing for decades, are alleviated by fasting.
"We are researching fasting for a long time using a similar approach. We wanted to see if fasting is the specific attribute responsible for low mortality," said lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Horn, director of cardiac and genetic epidemiology at the institute.
In the study, researchers interviewed more than 2,000 cardiac catheterization patients between 2013 and 2015.
Researchers asked patients whether they regularly intermittently fasted or not, and then followed up.
The researchers found that regular fasters had higher survival rates and were less likely to develop heart failure than those who did not fast.
They said fasting may boost the number of red blood cells in the patient, while lowering sodium, both of which reduce the risk of heart health deterioration.
"Fasting takes about 12 hours to activate this mechanism in the body," said Dr Horn. "Fasting for 24 hours once a month trains the body to activate this mechanism."
For future studies, the team plans to consider the physical effects of fasting, high cholesterol levels, and psychological effects on appetite.
However, the researchers noted that certain groups - including pregnant women, young children and the elderly - and those who have undergone organ transplants and who are taking drugs for chronic diseases, should not fast.