As soon as you feel ready, usually within the first few weeks of getting home. Early appointments help because appetite, taste and energy often change after a cardiac event, and new medications can affect what you feel like eating. If you are enrolled in a cardiac rehab program, nutrition support works well alongside it. Booking later is still worthwhile, particularly if old habits have crept back.

Not always. Most low-sodium salt substitutes replace sodium with potassium chloride. Potassium can build up in the blood if your kidney function is reduced, or if you take ACE inhibitors, ARBs or spironolactone, which are common heart medications. High potassium levels affect heart rhythm. Check with your GP or cardiologist before using one, and bring the packet to your appointment so your dietitian can read the ingredients.

Use the per 100 g column, not the per serve column, because serve sizes vary between brands. As a guide, under 120 mg of sodium per 100 g is low, and over 600 mg per 100 g is high; aim for mostly low choices and treat anything in between as a compare-and-choose. The biggest wins are usually bread, cheese, sauces and processed meats, because you eat them often.

It has the strongest evidence of any eating pattern for cardiovascular health: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil and fish, with less processed meat and fewer refined carbohydrates. It is a pattern rather than a rule book, and your dietitian adapts it to your culture, budget and cooking habits rather than handing you someone else’s menu.

No. Reducing processed meat and choosing lean cuts matters more than removing meat entirely. Plant-forward eating benefits heart health, but fish, lean poultry, eggs in moderation and smaller portions of lean red meat all fit within a heart-healthy pattern. Your dietitian works out where animal foods sit in your week rather than removing them.

Yes. If your cardiologist has set a daily fluid limit, a dietitian helps you make it workable: tracking hidden fluids in foods like soups and yoghurt, spacing drinks across the day, managing thirst, and balancing the limit against sodium targets. This is coordinated with your medical team, since fluid targets are set and adjusted by your doctor.

And the ACF block for the end: