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Abstracted by Susan Sweeny Johnson, PhD, Biochem, April 4, 2007, from MitsuhiroYokoyama et al., Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on major coronary events in hypercholesterolaemic patients (JELIS): a randomized open label, blinded endpoint analysis. Lancet 2007; 369: 1090–98.
Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil have been shown in various studies to improve heart health. In fact, Japanese populations consume an average of one serving of fish a day and have a death rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) six times lower than Europeans.(1,2)
Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has specifically been shown to slow blood clotting in arteries, dilate blood vessels and stabilize arterial plaques that have already formed by reducing the immune system’s reaction to them.(3,4,5)
In this study, researchers looked at the effect of supplementation with purified EPA on the occurrence of any cardiac event over long-term use. Researchers selected 18,645 Japanese men and women with elevated cholesterol for the study, and gave them 1.8 mg of EPA per day or a placebo. In addition, all subjects were given a controlled dose of statin prescribed to lower cholesterol. Each subject’s blood was analyzed for lipid content over the course of five years. The number of years from the trial onset to a significant cardiac event (myocardial infarction, angina, angioplasty, stent insertion, bypass surgery, or cardiac death) was recorded.
Over a five-year study, the number of cardiac death events was not significantly different between the group taking the EPA and the control group. Lipid levels did not vary significantly between groups either, although cholesterol was reduced in both groups due to the statin. However, non-fatal cardiac events did drop significantly (19%) with EPA supplementation, suggesting that in this population with a low baseline incidence of cardiac death, further heart benefits can be derived by higher doses of EPA.
Reference:
1 GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell’Infarto miocardico). Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet 1999; 354: 447–55
2 Iso H, Kobayashi M, Ishihara J, et al. Intake of fi sh and n3 fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese: the Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC) study cohort I. Circulation 2006; 113: 195–202
3 Tamura Y, Hirai A, Terano T, et al. Clinical and epidemiological studies of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in Japan. Prog Lipid Res 1986; 25: 461–66
4 Terano T, Shiina T, Tamura Y. Eicosapentaenoic acid suppressed the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells through modulation of various steps of growth signals. Lipids 1996; 31: 301–04
5 Kawano H, Yano T, Mizuguchi K, Mochizuki H, Saito Y. Changes in aspects such as the collagenous fi ber density and foam cell size of atherosclerotic lesions composed of foam cells, smooth muscle cells and fi brous components in rabbits caused by all-cis-5, 8, 11,14, 17-icosapentaenoic acid. J Atheroscler Thromb 2002; 9: 170–77
Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil have been shown in various studies to improve heart health. In fact, Japanese populations consume an average of one serving of fish a day and have a death rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) six times lower than Europeans.(1,2)
Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has specifically been shown to slow blood clotting in arteries, dilate blood vessels and stabilize arterial plaques that have already formed by reducing the immune system’s reaction to them.(3,4,5)
In this study, researchers looked at the effect of supplementation with purified EPA on the occurrence of any cardiac event over long-term use. Researchers selected 18,645 Japanese men and women with elevated cholesterol for the study, and gave them 1.8 mg of EPA per day or a placebo. In addition, all subjects were given a controlled dose of statin prescribed to lower cholesterol. Each subject’s blood was analyzed for lipid content over the course of five years. The number of years from the trial onset to a significant cardiac event (myocardial infarction, angina, angioplasty, stent insertion, bypass surgery, or cardiac death) was recorded.
Over a five-year study, the number of cardiac death events was not significantly different between the group taking the EPA and the control group. Lipid levels did not vary significantly between groups either, although cholesterol was reduced in both groups due to the statin. However, non-fatal cardiac events did drop significantly (19%) with EPA supplementation, suggesting that in this population with a low baseline incidence of cardiac death, further heart benefits can be derived by higher doses of EPA.
Reference:
1 GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell’Infarto miocardico). Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet 1999; 354: 447–55
2 Iso H, Kobayashi M, Ishihara J, et al. Intake of fi sh and n3 fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese: the Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC) study cohort I. Circulation 2006; 113: 195–202
3 Tamura Y, Hirai A, Terano T, et al. Clinical and epidemiological studies of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in Japan. Prog Lipid Res 1986; 25: 461–66
4 Terano T, Shiina T, Tamura Y. Eicosapentaenoic acid suppressed the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells through modulation of various steps of growth signals. Lipids 1996; 31: 301–04
5 Kawano H, Yano T, Mizuguchi K, Mochizuki H, Saito Y. Changes in aspects such as the collagenous fi ber density and foam cell size of atherosclerotic lesions composed of foam cells, smooth muscle cells and fi brous components in rabbits caused by all-cis-5, 8, 11,14, 17-icosapentaenoic acid. J Atheroscler Thromb 2002; 9: 170–77
