7 Healthcast: Sweet heart

If you eat a little chocolate everyday you may be decreasing your risk of a heart attack. Johns Hopkins researchers say chocolate can decrease the risk of heart attack death in some people by half by preventing platelets to clot in blood vessels.

"It's believed that inflammation of the lining of the artery of the heart occurs and that platelets, by clumping on the area of inflammation causes an obstruction inside the artery which is responsible for heart attack," Cardiologist Dr. Douglas Drachman of Massachusetts General Hospital said.

Apparently, a chemical in cocoa beans has a similar effect to aspirin in reducing platelets from clumping.

"Platelets tended not to clump together as frequently in the patients compared to those who didn't eat chocolate which is a very surprising finding," Dr. Drachman said.

But this isn't a prescription to gobble up candy bars. Researchers recommend a small piece of dark chocolate a day. And a piece of chocolate alone isn't the key to a healthy heart.

"First and foremost one needs to remember to live their life in moderation and a well balanced approach to the management of heart disease is what's important," Dr. Drachman said.

Researchers discovered this sweet lesson about chocolate by accident. They were looking at the effects of aspirin on blood platelets. Patients in the study weren't supposed to eat certain foods like chocolate. Some people didn't follow the rules.

When doctors looked at their blood and urine they discovered this new information.