n-3 fatty acids increase postischemic blood flow but do not reduce myocardial necrosis

The effects of a fish oil-supplemented diet on infarct size and regional myocardial blood flow were examined in a rat model of acute ischemia followed by reperfusion. Thirty-five rats were fed a diet containing 20% by weight: fish oil (FO), rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; corn oil (CO), with predominantly n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; or beef tallow (BT), containing large amounts of saturated fatty acids. After 6-12 wk on the diet, animals underwent 40 min of left coronary artery occlusion followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Regional transmural myocardial blood flow was determined with radioactive microspheres at 30 min of occlusion and again 30 min after reperfusion. Infarct size was determined with triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Blood flow was virtually undetectable within the ischemic zone in all groups during occlusion. With reperfusion, however, ischemic zone absolute blood flow and relative flow (normalized to nonischemic zone flow) were significantly greater in the fish oil group [2.4 +/- 0.25 ml.min-1.g-1, 44 +/- 4% vs. 1.7 +/- 0.3, 29 +/- 5% for CO (P less than 0.05 vs. FO), and 1.4 +/- 0.3, 29 +/- 5% for BT (P less than 0.05 vs. FO)]. Despite differences in reperfusion blood flow, average percent transmural extent of infarction was nearly identical (68 +/- 4, 68 +/- 5, and 64 +/- 3%) and overall infarct size was similar (38 +/- 3, 36 +/- 4, and 29 +/- 3%) for FO, CO, and BT groups, respectively. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with fish oils increases postischemic blood flow but has no effect on extent of myocardial infarction in this ischemia-reperfusion model in rats.