Fish Oil

Fish Oil Helps Post Heart Attack

Laurence S. Sperling, MD, associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, and founder and director of Preventive Cardiology at the Emory Clinic, Atlanta, Georgia.

In Europe, it’s considered routine for a doctor to prescribe fish oil which contains omega-3 fatty acids usually in addition to other medical interventions to increase the odds of survival after someone suffers a heart attack. In contrast, most American who have heart attacks are treated primarily whit expensive drugs and invasive procedures. An increasing number of cardiologists in this country now agree it may be time to more aggressively add safe, effective and inexpensive fish oils to the standard mix of post heart attack treatments.

Fish Oil Capsules

For expert advice, we asked Laurence S. Sperling, MD, associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and director of Preventive Cardiology at the Emory Clinic in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Not only do I agree with this approach,”says Dr. Sperling, “the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends omega-3 fatty acids from fish for those without coronary heart disease (CHD) and that those with CHD consume it preferably from fish, or through supplements under doctor supervision.”

Doctor supervise supplementation is recommended for those with high triglycerides.

A SAFE, LOW-TECH APPROACH

The AHA confirms that consuming fatty fish (such as salmon, herring, trout and sardines) or fish oil supplements has been shown to reduce coronary heart disease mortality in those with coronary disease. Omega-3s work by:

• Reducing inflammation.


• 
  Decreasing stickiness of blood platelets – That can lead to the clots that cause heart attacks and strokes.

• 
  Slowing the growth of atherosclerotic plague – The deposits in the arteries.


• Decreasing triglyceride levels.

The AHA suggests that people with no known coronary heart disease should eat fish at least twice a week to reduce cardiovascular risk, and advises people who have existing heart disease to have one gram of fish oil daily containing the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or consume fish with 1g of EPA and DHA. Omega-3 activity varies widely across species and location of the fish (the colder the water the fish lives in, the higher the concentration of omega-3in its tissues).

For example, 2 to 41/2 oz. of salmon contains 1 g of EPA and DHA…11/2 to 2 oz. of herring contains 1 g. But some deep water fish are contaminated with toxins such as mercury, PCBs and dioxins.

Note: According to the FDA, up to 3 grams a day of EPA or DHA from fish oil is generally recognized as safe. Fish oil supplements are largely free of toxins, since the oil is processed to remove them.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN ASUPPLEMENT

Fortunately, it’s not necessary to buy the most expensive supplement to get a quality fish oil. Look for supplements that contain both EPA and DHA (such as Nordic Naturals and Pharmax products) are molecularly distilled (so they are generally contaminant-free) are encapsulated under nitrogen which makes for a less fishy aroma and taste then when manufactured with oxygen are highly concentrated so you can take capsules and are verified by the United States Pharmacopeia  (USP), which sets quality standards for pharmaceutical and dietary supplements.

Of course, as with any dietary supplement, you must check with your doctor before adding fish oil to your health regimen especially if you have other chronic diseases and/or are taking medication that said, fish oil can be a safe, effective, inexpensive and high-tech approach commonly used to heart attack patients in this country.

Fish Oil