German researchers have found that patients who are taking drugs to reduce their risk of heart disease gain no extra benefits by adding a dose of omega-3 fatty acid to their daily regimen.
Dr. Jochen Senges of the University of Heidelberg led the research team, which studied the effects of 1-gram daily dose of a prescription version of highly purified omega-3 fatty acid, called Omacor and Lovaza in the United States and as Zodin in Europe, among 3,827 patients from 104 German hospitals who had suffered a heart attack within two weeks prior to the start of the study.
“The OMEGA trial found no significant differences in the rates of heart attack, stroke, sudden cardiac death or death from any cause among patients assigned to guidelines-based optimal medical care alone or optimal medical care plus Omega-3 fatty acids,” researchers wrote in the study presented at the 58th conference of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida.
Ninety percent of the patients involved in the study were already prescribed to drugs intended to prevent heart attacks, such as aspirin, and anti-cholesterol medications.
Some participants received the 1-gram daily dose of omega-3 fatty acid, which comes from fish oil, while others were given a placebo.
One year after the study began, researchers noted no difference between patients who were given omega-3 fatty acids and those who received dummy pills.
According to the AP, in both groups, fewer than 2 percent had suffered sudden cardiac death, 4 percent had another heart attack, and fewer than 2 percent had suffered a stroke.
The new findings contradict those of previous studies which suggested that omega-3 supplements were beneficial in reducing the risk of heart attack.
Researchers of the new study noted that those studies had been conducted when the treatment for heart conditions was not as advanced as it is today, according to AFP.
In our study, we saw no beneficial effect. In patients who are already taking optimal medical therapy, cardiac event rates become very low and Omega-3 do not further improve them,” said Jochen Senges, a professor of cardiology at the Heart Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
“It would be incorrect to say that Omega-3 fatty acids are not effective, but we could not find any additional benefits after optimizing medical therapy,” Senges added.
Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University nutrition professor and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, said it is recommended that adults eat fish at least twice a week.
“A modest, 3-ounce cooked salmon has a little more than a gram,” she said.
The Association also advises that people with heart disease should add a 1-gram daily supplement of omega-3 to their daily regimen.
—
On the Net:
Comments