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Fish oil and vascular disease

S H Goodnight1

  • 1Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR 97201-3098, USA.

Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
|January 18, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Dietary n-3 fatty acids show promise for cardiovascular health, impacting blood cells and blood vessels. However, current evidence from fish oil trials is not definitive, so use for heart disease prevention is not yet recommended.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Nutritional Biochemistry

Background:

  • Dietary n-3 fatty acids exert significant biological effects on blood cells and vasculature.
  • These effects suggest potential therapeutic applications in cardiovascular diseases like atherogenesis, thrombosis, and vascular reactivity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of n-3 fatty acids' biological effects.
  • To assess the existing clinical evidence for fish oil in cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on n-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular health.
  • Analysis of available human clinical trial data, including studies on fish oil.

Main Results:

  • n-3 fatty acids demonstrate potent biological activities relevant to cardiovascular health.
  • Clinical trials, such as those investigating fish oil for post-angioplasty reocclusion, have yielded inconclusive results.

Conclusions:

  • While n-3 fatty acids have potential therapeutic benefits for cardiovascular conditions, definitive clinical evidence is currently lacking.
  • The use of fish-oil supplements for the treatment or prevention of cardiovascular disease is not yet supported by sufficient data.

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