Some Fishy News

I just read a rather nice article regarding omega-3 fatty acid (O3FA), which states that it is now being endorsed for use by the American Heart Association (AHA) as an aid in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in people with documented coronary artery disease (CAD). As many people know by now, O3FA is being marketed today as a nutritional supplement – fish oil, to be exact. Now what I found impressive with this recommendation is that as far as I can remember, this would appear to be the first time that I know of the AHA recommending a nutritional supplement for CAD prevention. Of course then again, this could be due to the growing body of evidence that supports the cardiovascular benefits and triglyceride-lowering effects of O3FA. In fact, I can even remember an article I’ve read that attributed a 19% to 45% reduction in cardiovascular events from test subjects due to the intake of the said supplement. Not bad at all, right?

The recent recommendation was quite thorough as it also stipulated the useful dosage for the supplement. Technically, O3FA supplements should consist of, more or less, equal amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). But in actuality there are different dosage preparations from different manufacturers. So since there are differing patient profiles, intake of the supplement are to be adjusted accordingly to satisfy the dosage requirements, as the supplement, the article said, could anyway can be taken at any time, in full or divided doses and without raising concerns for interactions with any medications.

With this recommendation, some form of combination therapy of fish oil supplement and a statin could be on its way to CAD sufferers that could be safely instituted as an effective way to improve their lipid levels and cardiovascular prognosis far beyond when they just used statin therapy alone. This is quite good news for them as fish oil supplements are relatively cheaper than the usual statins. My take on the article: this is an excellent and viable addition to the usual medical regimen of CAD patients and it warrants a recommendation for them to seek advice from their doctors about this supplement to see whether its intake and/or its combination with statins could be beneficial to them; and, as well, to know its financial impact to them if they are to use it.