Heart Disease Prevention - Can Fish Oil Prevent Heart Disease?

Numerous studies on fish oil indicated that its omega-3 fatty acids may help manage blood pressure, reduce triglycerides and the chance of abnormal heart rhythm, lower the likelihood of heart attack and stroke, and lessen the risk of sudden cardiac death in patients with heart disease.

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A high level of LDL cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol, can lead to a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, is called good cholesterol as it carries cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver, which removes the cholesterol from the body. Read more on whether supplements can help keep healthy level of cholesterol by clicking the following link:

Heart Disease Prevention - Will Supplements Help Keep Healthy Level Of Cholesterol?

Can Fish Oil Really Prevent Heart Disease?

Omega-3 fatty acid is healthy for all from growing children to heart disease patients. This is the message conveyed to people for years by many health professionals and doctors. In recent years, omega-3 has even been added to some foods such as margarine and eggs.

However, Dutch researchers found in their study of about 5,000 heart attack survivors that eating about 400 milligrams of fish fatty acids per day did not significantly decrease the risk of getting heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular events for those patients who were already getting good care. 400 milligrams of fish fatty acids is the equivalent of 2 fatty fish meals.

At the end of 3 and half years, there was no change in death, heart attack and other heart problems between those who consumed margarine with added omega-3 fatty acids and those who did not.

The findings were presented by researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands during the month of August 2010 at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, and published online by the New England Journal Of Medicine.

Does the results mean that getting more of the fatty acid does not has any benefit? Of course NO!

As confirmed by several studies, omega-3 fish fatty acid (mostly from fish oil) help reduce heart disease. It would reduce the risk of abnormal heartbeats (arrhythmias) that can lead to sudden death, decrease triglyceride (harmful fats) levels, slow the growth of atherosclerotic plaque that could clog arteries, and lower blood pressure (slightly).

The reason that adding a low-dose of omega-3 fatty acid did not offer extra protection, as explained by the researchers, is that the participants were taken good care by their doctors: they were taking the best medicines to prevent future heart problem. Among the participants, about 98 percent were on anti-platelet treatments, 90 percent were taking blood pressure lowering agents and 85 percent were taking lipid-lowering agents.

As compared to those heart patients in earlier research who did benefit by taking fish oil pills, the participants in this study were also older (aged between 60 and 80) and took part in the study years after their heart attack.

Can Fish Oil Benefit Heart?

Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in such wild oily fish as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and herring. It is believed that omega-3 fatty acids could benefit heart as it could raise HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol, lowers harmful fats known as triglycerides and slow the growth of plaque that tend to clog arteries.

According to the recommendation by the American Heart Association, adults should take fish at least twice a week, and people with heart disease should consume 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acid a day.

However, a recent large study conducted in Germany seemed to get a rather surprising finding. Researchers from the University of Heidelberg reported that fish oil capsules did not offer added benefit to heart attack patients who are already taking the right medications to prevent future problems. Their results were presented on March 30, 2009 at an American College of Cardiology conference.

In the study, more than 3,800 people who had suffered a heart attack in the previous 2 weeks were given 1-gram daily dose of a prescription version of highly purified omega-3 fatty acid or dummy capsules. About 90 percent of these people were already receiving all the necessary medications prescribed by their doctors to prevent a second attack, including aspirin, anti-clotting and cholesterol drugs.

The prescription version used in the study is a highly purified and standardized form, and is different from what many consumers buy off the shelf. They are sold as Omacor and Lovaza in the United States and as Zodin in Europe,

After a year, the researchers found no difference in both groups of patients, whether they took fish oil or dummy capsules. The researchers also found that 2 percent had suffered sudden cardiac death, 4 percent had another heart attack and fewer than 2 percent had suffered a stroke in both groups of patients.

The researchers argued that there is nothing much can be done to further reduce the risk for heart attack patients, who have already received good care from their doctors (given all necessary medications). Nevertheless, this does not mean that fish oil is of no value. In the first place, the study did not address whether fish oil could help prevent heart disease.