Olive oil can revive a failing heart - Research

Heart failure is a chronic and incurable disease which occurs when the organ is damaged, either suddenly following a heart attack or gradually over a number of years for reasons including heart disease, long-term high blood pressure, alcohol or recreational drugs.

Once damaged it becomes enlarged, or hypertrophic, in response to the high blood pressure which requires it to work harder to pump blood.

Scientists have found that oleate, a common healthy fat found in the oil can help a diseased heart muscle work better.

Experts have hailed the "exciting" findings and say they are further proof that eating a diet rich in good fats can dramatically improve and protect heart health.

And they said that there was even a benefit in consuming the staple of the Mediterranean diet even after heart disease had set in.

Dr Douglas Lewandowski, director of the University of Illinois Centre for Cardiovascular Research in the US, said: "This gives more proof to the idea that consuming healthy fats like oleate can have a significantly positive effect on cardiac health."

Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study serves as an important reminder that making positive changes to your diet can not only protect your heart against heart disease, but can help manage existing heart conditions as well.

"It is too soon to say for sure that the same effects would be seen in humans. "In the meantime, the message remains the same. We must eat a balanced diet with saturated fats replaced with unsaturated fats, get plenty of fruit and vegetables and eat less salt."