Some of the healthy cardiovascular effects of Fish Oils
May
04,
2007
Researchers at Cardiology-UTIC, at Hospital S. Giacomo, in Rome state that Omega-3 fatty acids from fish have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerosis (anti-hardening of the arteries) activity and lower triglycerides in the blood. The improve hemodynamics (blood flow and circulation) and reduce cardiac hypertrophy (enlargement of a heart chamber caused by stress on the heart due to high blood pressure).
Recently, clinical and experimental studies show that Fish Oils help prevent arrhythmias and also significantly impact survival after a heart attack. Fish Oils have been widely accepted for clinical use in patients with elevated levels of blood fats, with atherosclerotic disease (hardening of the arteries), and in heart attack survivors. The study is published in the April 2007 issue of the journal Current Vascular Pharmacology.
Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.; the researchers didn?t even mention improving blood pressure modestly, diffusing built up pressure on the heart muscle, and significantly decreasing the incidence of sudden cardiac death; which is usually death to an electrical rhythm disturbance in a lower chamber of the heart (the first sign of heart disease in many people is dying from sudden cardiac death) which is estimated to kill between 184,000 to 462,000 people in the USA each year accounting for about 50% of cardiac deaths and the incidence is rising. When young athletes unexpectedly die it is often due to sudden cardiac death; usually this makes the headlines making people more aware of sudden cardiac death.
Fish Oils at high doses successfully lower triglyceride and VLDL-cholesterol levels
The FDA has recently approved Fish Oils as a drug to treat very high triglyceride levels (over 500mg/dl). The total EPA-DHA dose recommended for lowering triglycerides is 2g-4g a day (note that this level of EPA-DHA is above the usual protective level of 1 gram a day and at this high level of 2g-4g a day fish oils will thin the blood). According to the researchers, 4g of Fish Oils a day will lower triglyceride levels by 45% and can lower VLDL levels by 50% (this is good because eventually VLDL is converted to LDL cholesterol).
The review was performed by scientists at the School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, and is published in the May 2007 issue of the journal Pharmacotherapy.