Cardiology

Risk of Cardiac Death Lessened with Omega-3 Supplementation

 

 

 

Supplementation with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-OM3) is associated with a modest reduction in the risk of cardiac mortality, according to the results of a recent study.

Previous research into the effects of LC-OM3 supplementation on cardiovascular outcomes have produced mixed results. For their study, researchers conducted an analysis of data from 14 randomized controlled trials including 71,899 individuals.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Statins, Omega-3 Combination May Reduce Heart Failure Risk in Men
Do Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Prevent High Blood Pressure?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Overall, 1613 cardiac deaths occurred in the LC-OM3 arms (4.48%), compared with 1746 cardiac deaths in the control groups (4.87%). Pooled relative risk estimates showed an 8% lower risk of cardiac death in the LC-OM3 arms than in the control arms, with larger effects observed in subsets of trials with eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid dosages >1 g/d and higher risk samples.

“These results suggest that additional research is warranted to further evaluate the potential risk reduction with LC-OM3 supplementation at higher dosages and in higher risk samples. Future RCTs should include evaluation of biomarkers of omega-3 status at baseline and during treatment and should be designed to test specific hypotheses about the mechanisms through which benefits might be produced,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Maki KC, Palacios OM, Bell M, Toth PP. Use of supplemental long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and risk for cardiac death: An updated meta-analysis and review of research gaps [published online August 2, 2017]. JCL. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2017.07.010.