Fish Oil Capsules Cut Death Risk for Heart Patients

A major clinical study conducted by researchers at the ANMCO Research Centre in Florence, Italy has found that a daily dose of one capsule of fish oil significantly improves the survival prospects of patients with heart failure. Findings of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology and also published online in Lancet.

A total of 7,000 patients with heart failure were tracked in the study conducted by Luigi Tavazzi and colleagues. The patients were split equally in two groups with one group getting a daily Lovaza capsule (a prescription-formulation pill derived from fish oils, produced by Norway’s Pronova BioPharma) containing 1 gram of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, while the other group was given a placebo. Both groups were followed for an average of 3.9 years.

During the follow-up period, 955 patients from the Lovaza group died, compared to 1,014 in the placebo. Hospital admissions among the fish oil capsule patients numbered 1,026 compared to 1,039 among the placebo patients. Overall it was found that patients receiving fish oil supplements were 9 percent less likely to die than those given a placebo.

The omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil are believed to help the heart by stabilising the organ’s electrical signals and reducing blood fat levels. Fish oil already has a reputation of being good for the heart and the new findings add to it. These are particularly encouraging for heart failure patients as the condition is a hard to treat one wherein the heart struggles to pump blood effectively.

While it might be argued that the difference between the two groups is modest, Jose Ramon Gonzalez Juanatey, a cardiologist at Santiago University Hospital in Spain finds it to be clinically meaningful, as the patients were also on the best available treatment and the chances of improvement were slim.

“This is important because heart failure is a major public health problem. Even in well-treated patients, the mortality rate is 10 percent a year, so new therapies and strategies are needed,” he said. Omega-3 fatty acids are already part of current European and US guidelines for prevention of heart disease; however Juanatey feels the guidelines should be widened to include heart failure treatment.

According to Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, fish oil capsules are a cheap, well-tolerated option that does not have any side effects or unwanted interactions. This makes them an attractive alternative. “I think it makes sense for doctors and their patients to consider using them,” he said.

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