Research

Hormonal

Higher consumption of trans-18:2 fatty acids (industrial trans fats) is associated with significantly lower heart rate variability (HRV) and higher heart rate in both older and younger adults, indicating autonomic dysfunction and increased arrhythmic risk.

To protect your heart's electrical health and autonomic function, minimize industrial trans fats (trans-18:2) found in fried foods and baked goods. These are linked to reduced heart rate variability and higher heart rates, which are markers of increased cardiac risk. Unlike industrial trans fats, natural trans fats (trans-18:1) found in dairy and meat do not show these negative effects and may even be beneficial for heart rate variability in older adults.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Trans-18:2 consumption is associated with specific, less favorable indices of HRV in both older and young adults. ... higher trans-18:2 consumption was associated with lower 24-hour SD of all normal-to-normal intervals both cross-sectionally (−12%; 95% CI, –19% to –6%; P=0.001) and longitudinally (−15%; 95% CI, –25% to –4%; P= 0.009)... Trans-18:2 consumption was also associated with higher HR, including both 24-hour average HR (+3.20 beats per minute/SD of consumption; P=0.006) and resting HR (+3.26 beats per minute/SD of consumption; P=0.01).
Luísa Soares‐Miranda et al. · Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology · 2012

Why this rating

Observational cohort studies (CHS and Porto) with large sample sizes and longitudinal data, though not a randomized controlled trial.

Source

<i>Trans</i> -Fatty Acid Consumption and Heart Rate Variability in 2 Separate Cohorts of Older and Younger Adults

Luísa Soares‐Miranda et al. · Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology · 2012

DOI 10.1161/circep.111.966259

cohort · n=1236Cited 27×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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