Individuals who are at risk of heart problems need to make sure they are eating healthily, one medical expert has said.

Linda Main, dietetic advisor for HEART UK - the Cholesterol Charity, pointed out that the link between diet and coronary heart disease has been known for some time.

"Best practice dietary advice calls for a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruit, vegetables, beans, peas, pulses, nuts and fish (particularly oily fish) and which is low in saturated fat and salt," she explained.

Ms Main said that it is "reasonable" to believe that increasing the intake of fruit and vegetables will lower the risk of heart disease, partly to do with the nutrients that such foods possess.

A European study investigating the links between diet and disease recently found that people who consume more fruit and vegetables have a reduced risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease.