 Eating chocolate has been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, and now a new study from Denmark suggests that regular consumption of the treat may help to prevent the development of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat. Researchers found that adults in the study who ate chocolate at least once a month — or more frequently than that — had rates of atrial fibrillation that were 10 to 20 percent lower than those who ate chocolate less than once a month, according to the findings published today (May 23) in the journal Heart. Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the heart's two upper chambers, known as the atria, do not beat at the same pace as the heart's two lower chambers, resulting in an irregular heartbeat. Past studies have that found eating chocolate - especially dark chocolate, which has more flavanols - is tied to better measures of heart health and decreased risk for certain conditions like heart attacks and heart failure, they add. The study found that the strongest overall effects were seen in men and women who ate 1 ounce of chocolate, two to six times per week, said the lead author of the study, Elizabeth Mostofsky, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The men and women were between 50 and 64 years old when it began, and they provided information about their diets when they entered the study between 1993 and 1997. And the new study also included adults who had been clinically diagnosed with atrial fibrillation rather than people who had self-reported the condition, as was the case with the previous studies. In the new study, the researchers analyzed data collected from more than 55,000 adults between ages 50 and 64 in Denmark. They also didn’t have data on the type of chocolate or the amount of flavanols participants ate. The researchers found that more than 3,300 adults were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (a condition in which the heart beats faster than usual, but is not irregular) over the follow-up period of 13.5 years, on average. Mostofsky and colleagues write in the journal Heart that eating cocoa and cocoa-containing foods may help heart health because they have a high volume of flavanols, which are compounds that are believed to have anti-inflammatory, blood vessel-relaxing and anti-oxidant properties. The findings showed that for women, the strongest association was seen in those who ate a 1-ounce serving of chocolate, once a week – this level of consumption was linked to a 21 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation. For men, the strongest association was seen in those who ate two to six 1-ounce servings of chocolate weekly. [6 Distinctive Food Guides from Around the World] 
 
 All in all, the findings suggest that compared with some other snack choices, a moderate intake of chocolate may be a heart-healthy snack, Mostofsky told Live Science. “A double-blind randomized controlled trial is needed to evaluate the true efficacy of chocolate for the prevention of (atrial fibrillation) and such a trial would need to incorporate quantified doses of cocoa,” write Pokorney and Piccini, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Even so, Piccini and Pokorney said "the findings are interesting and warrant further consideration, given the importance of identifying effective prevention strategies for atrial fibrillation."
– Willy Wonka may have been on to something. Regularly eating chocolate could possibly help prevent a type of irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of heart failure, strokes, and cognitive impairment, according to a study published Tuesday in Heart. Live Science reports between 2.7 million and 6.1 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, in which the upper chambers of the heart beat at a different pace than the lower chambers. But a study of 55,000 adults in Denmark found that those who ate chocolate at least once a month had rates of atrial fibrillation 10% to 20% lower than those who ate it less than once a month. The best results came from eating an ounce of chocolate two to six times per week. It's impossible to say based on the study whether chocolate consumption was directly responsible for lower rates of atrial fibrillation. Researchers also aren't clear how chocolate could even affect the development of the condition, but it may have something to do with things called flavanols, the Los Angeles Times reports. Atrial fibrillation is thought to be caused by molecules damaging heart tissue. The flavanols in chocolate can stop inflammation that leads to tissue damage. "As part of a healthy diet, moderate intake of chocolate is a healthy snack choice," Reuters quotes the study's lead author as saying. Though it's important to choose chocolate with a higher cocoa content. (And you should probably also take it easy on the ibuprofen.)