Daily Intake of Fish Oil Capsule Can Protect Against Heart Disease

Daily intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplements can help keep some heart patients out of hospital, and can reduce their risk of death, a new study suggested Sunday.

The study conducted by Professor Luigi Tavazzi and Professor Gianni Tognoni from the ANMCO research centre in Florence, found that a single omega-3 fish oil capsule taken daily can minimize mortality and admission to hospital for cardiovascular reasons in patients with heart failure.

Another study, conducted by the same authors, suggested that a cholesterol-lowering statin drug has no beneficial effect in patients with heart problems.

Statin trial and the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) study, both are conducted by Professors Tavazzi and Tognoni, Gruppo Italiano di Studio della Sopravvivenza nella Insufficienza cardiac-Heart Failure (GISSI-HF) Coordinating Centre, ANMCO Research Centre, Florence, Italy and Mario Negri Institute, Milan, Italy and colleagues. Findings of both the studies published online in the medical journal The Lancet on Sunday (Aug. 31).

In the first study, the researchers enlisted more than 7,000 people diagnosed with heart failure, which is the progressive loss of the heart's ability to pump blood around the body. Half of the participants took a daily capsule containing omega-3 PUFA, while the other half took a capsule with a placebo.

The researchers noticed that in the PUFA group 955 or 27 percent died, while 1,014 or 29 percent died in the placebo group. More patients in the latter group were also admitted to hospital.

"Our study shows that the long-term administration of 1 g per day omega-3 PUFA was effective in reducing both all-cause mortality and admissions to hospital for cardiovascular reasons," the authors of fish oil study conclude.

In the second trial, the researchers looked at the effect of the statin drug rosuvastatin in patients with heart failure. In the trial, 2285 patients received 10 mg daily of rosuvastatin, while other 2289 received a placebo.

After following them up for a median of nearly four years, the researchers found that statin treatment with rosuvastatin did not help patients with chronic heart failure. They didn’t even found any significant difference between deaths and hospital admissions.

In the rosuvastatin group 657 patients or 29% died from any cause, compared with 644 or 28% in the placebo group. Proportions of patients who died or were hospitalized for cardiovascular causes were also similar in both groups i.e. 1305 or 57% rosuvastatin versus 1283 or 56% placebo.

"Rosuvastatin 10 mg daily did not affect clinical outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure of any cause, in whom the drug was safe," the authors concluded.