date: 8/8/2007
Fish oil may boost heart benefit of statin drugs
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People who use cholesterol-reducing statin drugs might lower their risk of heart problems even more by consuming omega-3 fatty acids from fish or pills, a recent clinical trial suggests.
Researchers from Japan randomly assigned some 19,000 people with elevated cholesterol levels to either of two groups. One took a statin--either pravastatin (Pravachol and generic) or simvastatin (Zocor and generic)--plus a supplement containing an omega-3 found in fish oil. The other group took only a statin.
After four and one-half years, the addition of the omega-3 further reduced the combined risk of nonfatal heart attack and other coronary events by 19 percent compared with the statin alone. That benefit was similar in participants with and without diagnosed heart disease.
Statins work mainly by reducing the “bad” LDL cholesterol level but can also slightly raise the “good” HDL cholesterol. Omega-3’s provide additional benefits, such as inhibiting blood clots and irregular heart rhythms, both of which can trigger a heart attack, and reducing blood levels of triglycerides, an artery-clogging fat.
Those findings support the American Heart Association’s recommendation that people with heart disease take a statin and also consume about 1 gram a day of omega-3’s from fish or fish-oil supplements. They also bolster the association’s advice that other people eat at least two servings of fish per week or consume about 2 grams a week of omega-3’s, whether or not they use a statin. Young children and pregnant women should avoid or limit their intake of species that might be contaminated with pollutants; others should vary their choices and sharply limit their intake of the worst offenders.
Our last tests of fish-oil pills, in 2003, found that none contained contaminants. But check with your doctor before taking them, especially if you take blood thinners, have a bleeding disorder, or have an implanted cardiac defibrillator.
Researchers from Japan randomly assigned some 19,000 people with elevated cholesterol levels to either of two groups. One took a statin--either pravastatin (Pravachol and generic) or simvastatin (Zocor and generic)--plus a supplement containing an omega-3 found in fish oil. The other group took only a statin.
After four and one-half years, the addition of the omega-3 further reduced the combined risk of nonfatal heart attack and other coronary events by 19 percent compared with the statin alone. That benefit was similar in participants with and without diagnosed heart disease.
Statins work mainly by reducing the “bad” LDL cholesterol level but can also slightly raise the “good” HDL cholesterol. Omega-3’s provide additional benefits, such as inhibiting blood clots and irregular heart rhythms, both of which can trigger a heart attack, and reducing blood levels of triglycerides, an artery-clogging fat.
Those findings support the American Heart Association’s recommendation that people with heart disease take a statin and also consume about 1 gram a day of omega-3’s from fish or fish-oil supplements. They also bolster the association’s advice that other people eat at least two servings of fish per week or consume about 2 grams a week of omega-3’s, whether or not they use a statin. Young children and pregnant women should avoid or limit their intake of species that might be contaminated with pollutants; others should vary their choices and sharply limit their intake of the worst offenders.
Our last tests of fish-oil pills, in 2003, found that none contained contaminants. But check with your doctor before taking them, especially if you take blood thinners, have a bleeding disorder, or have an implanted cardiac defibrillator.
This article first appeared in the July 2007 issue of Consumer Reports on Health.
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