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Reduction of heart rate by omega-3 fatty acids and the potential underlying mechanisms

Jing X Kang1

  • 1Laboratory for Lipid Medicine and Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA.

Frontiers in Physiology
|November 2, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce heart rate by decreasing cardiac myocyte electrical excitability. This mechanism may explain how omega-3s help prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Molecular Cardiology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Elevated resting heart rate predicts cardiovascular mortality and sudden cardiac death (SCD).
  • Identifying agents to safely reduce heart rate is crucial for SCD prevention.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids have shown potential in reducing heart rate in human and animal studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cellular mechanisms by which omega-3 fatty acids reduce heart rate.
  • To explore the role of cardiac myocyte electrical excitability in omega-3 induced heart rate reduction.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cardiac myocyte membrane potential.
  • Assessed the impact of omega-3s on the cardiac myocyte refractory period.
  • Examined the influence of omega-3s on cardiac ion channel activity.

Main Results:

  • Omega-3 fatty acids significantly reduced the resting membrane potential of cardiac myocytes.
  • Omega-3s shortened the refractory period of cardiac myocytes.
  • These effects were attributed to the inhibition of specific ion channels.

Conclusions:

  • Omega-3 fatty acids decrease cardiac myocyte electrical excitability by altering ion channel function.
  • This reduction in excitability is a proposed mechanism for the observed heart rate lowering effect of omega-3s.
  • Omega-3s' heart rate-lowering capability may contribute to their protective role against sudden cardiac death.

Keywords:
cardiac sudden deathheart rateion channel inhibitionmembrane electrical excitabilityomega-3 fatty acids

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