Heart & Blood Fish oil better than statins at protecting heart patients
By Ben Wasserman
Sep 2, 2008 - 6:05:23 AM
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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 shown 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.