Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplement Lacks Evidence In Heart Disease Prevention

Omega-3 fish oil may help in the prevent death and hospitalization of patients who suffered from a heart attack. But there's no sufficient proof of it being the primary preventive supplements for cardiovascular disease.

According to Pharmacy Times, the American Heart Association (AHA) published in Circulation a new science advisory. It claimed that there's inadequate scientific evidence with the use of omega-3 fish oil supplement for cardiovascular disease prevention. This is an update from AHA's 2002 recommendations that fish oil may be helpful for patients who were reported having coronary heart disorders.

“People in the general population who are taking omega-3 fish oil supplements are taking them in the absence of scientific data that shows any benefit of the supplements in preventing heart attacks, stroke, heart failure or death for people who do not have a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.” David Siscovick, MD, MPH, senior vice president for research at the New York Academy of Medicine and chair of the advisory’s writing committee said.

According to Healio, many studies of patients suffered from myocardial infarction (MI) exhibited a little evidence that omega-3 fish oil supplements decrease the risk of stroke. Furthermore, there are no inputs that support the intake of fish oil for the prevention of secondary MI.

The researchers examined many randomized controlled trials. They used it in determining the effects of omega-3 fish oil supplement on the incident of cardiovascular diseases. The clinical impacts of fish oil's daily intake on heart attacks, strokes, and atrial fibrillation were evaluated.

Ultimately, the study found that there is no enough evidence of the fish oil supplements' preventive benefits. However, recommending omega-3 fish oil as a remedy should still be considered in patients, who suffered from a previous heart attack or heart failure. In fact, there are almost 18.8 million U.S. adults reported of taking this kind of supplements in 2012 according to the researchers.