High Doses of Fish Oil Might Help Healing After Heart Attack

Heart attack patients who took high doses of fish oil supplements for six months showed improved heart function and less scarring, researchers report.

In the study, 360 heart attack survivors were followed for six months. Half of them were give 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acid supplements daily for six months, while the other half were given placebo pills.

Using MRIs of the heart, the researchers found there was a 6% improvement in both heart function and scarring in undamaged parts of the organ among patients who took 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids daily.

“What we need to study going forward is whether higher doses of omega-3 can reduce mortality rates. Can we do better than produce 6% heart improvement and 6% less scarring?” said senior author Dr. Raymond Kwong. He is director of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Previous studies where lower doses of omega-3 fatty acids were given after heart attacks had yielded “mixed results.”

Kwong said he was prompted to conduct the study after improved MRI technology made it possible to take a closer look at heart function and scarring of undamaged parts of the muscle.

Omega-3 fatty acids may permit the hart to contract more easily and reduce swelling in undamaged regions, Kwong noted.