TUESDAY September 2, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- One study showed daily supplementation of omega-3 polysaturated fatty acids found in fish oil helped reduce risk of deaths and hospitalizations of people with heart failure while another revealed a cholesterol lowering statin was useless when it came to preventing heart failure.

The omega-3 polysaturated fatty acid (PUFA) study involved more than 7,000 patients with heart failure at 357 Italian cardiology centers.  Researchers gave half the subjects omega-3 PUFA and others a placebo. Of those who received PUFA, 27 percent died compared to 29 percent in the control group.

To avoid one death, 56 people with heart failure would have to take PUFA for about 4 years.  Similarly, it would take 44 people to take PUFA supplements for 4 years to avoid one hospitalization.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health was cited by healthday.com as saying that the small effect is still significant considering that few treatments can be used to reduce the total mortality in the heart patients.

The statin study involved more than 4,500 people with heart failure. Researchers gave half the subjects a placebo or the statin rosuvastatin or Crestor and found 29 percent in the statin group died compared to 28 percent in the placebo group.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles wrote an editorial accompanying the journal report saying that "It indicates that heart failure, in and of itself, should not be reason to start a patient on a statin."

Statins are commonly used to reduce risk of heart disease and events through the reduction of cholesterol.   Early studies have showed that such an effect is so minimal that many people believe use of statins is not worthwhile.

In contrast, the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on heart health has been well for some years.

Both studies were published online on August 31 in the journal The Lancet.