Omega-3s did not reduce CV events in recent heart attack survivors: AHA study
DALLAS: Some studies have found that a high intake of fish-oil-derived omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular events. However, some recent studies have shown the therapy to have no effect on overall cardiovascular health.
Researchers have found in a new research that Omega-3 supplements in commonly available forms appear to be ineffective in preventing further cardiovascular events among elderly people with recent heart attacks.They further found that when compared to a placebo, an omega-3 fatty acids supplement in addition to statin therapy and/or a blood thinner did not reduce the number of cardiac events in a study of more than 1,000 patients in Norway.
"This study focused on a particularly vulnerable patient group, in this case elderly patients with recent cardiovascular disease and a high load of risk factors, where the effects of preventive measures are usually the most prominent," said Are A. Kalstad, M.D., a principal investigator of the study, and a researcher at the Center for Clinical Research at Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. "The fact that no indication of any impact from the omega-3 fatty acids were found in this group, along with the results of other recent neutral trials, suggests that omega-3 supplements are ineffective for cardiovascular prevention."
The study included more than 1,000 patients (ages 70 to 82, mostly white, 29% women) who had all been hospitalized due to a heart attack within the previous two months. Most participants (97%) were taking cholesterol-lowering medications (statins), and most (86%) were on two blood thinner medications. Researchers randomly assigned half of the participants to receive an omega-3 fatty acids oral supplement daily and half to receive a placebo capsule of corn oil daily.
After 2 years of follow-up, researchers analyzed the number of cardiac events in each group, including heart attacks, strokes, revascularization (bypass surgery or angioplasty), hospitalizations for heart failure or deaths. The data indicates no difference in the rate of cardiac events between the two groups – about 20% for both groups.
Additionally, the researchers found no statistical differences between the omega-3 group and the patients taking the placebo when they examined subgroups of patients divided by age, gender, diabetes status, kidney function and triglyceride levels. Furthermore, the secondary endpoint of the study was new atrial fibrillation, which occurred in almost twice as many in the study's omega-3 group compared to the placebo group, 7.2 % vs 4.0 %, respectively, although the numbers were too small to be of statistical significance.
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