Could Omega-3s Become "Standard Care" After a Heart Attack?

Omega-3 essential fatty acids promote normal triglyceride levels, healthy blood pressure and arterial health. Now, a new study adds to the growing body of evidence that omega-3s can be highly protective after a heart attack.

A research trial was presented to the American College of Cardiology last month. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital studied 374 patients receiving standard care after a heart attack. As part of the treatment, patients received either four grams of omega-3 fatty acids or a placebo. Then, the researchers used blood work and cardiac imaging to measure heart recovery at two weeks, four weeks, and six months post heart attack.

What they found was that patients in the omega-3 fatty acids group were 39% less likely to have deterioration of heart function than patients in the placebo group. Specifically, the omega-3 group had substantially less fibrosis, which is a thickening of the heart that can occur when the heart compensates for damage following a heart attack. Plus, they found that the patients who took omega-3s showed substantial improvement in the ST2 cardiac biomarker, a sign of cardiac stress, after six months.

The lead researcher on this study, Dr. Raymond Kwong, suspects that the results may be due to the anti-inflammatory effect of the omega-3s. He also said, “This is important because other anti-inflammatory agents, including steroids and NSAIDS, have failed to make a difference after myocardial infarction [heart attack].”

It is my observation that since the omega-3s succeeded where the other anti-inflammatory agents failed, there must still be additional benefits from the omega-3s that are not present in the other anti-inflammatory agents.

This is just another example where natural therapies can safely and effectively outperform conventional medicine and without the potential detrimental side effects of those medications.

What Does This Omega-3 Study Mean for You?

Dr. Sinatra, a renowned cardiologist, who specializes in natural therapies, has long recommended taking one to two grams of omega-3 oil following a heart attack. Based on the GISSI trial, which showed that taking one gram of omega-3s daily after a heart attack could reduce death from a subsequent heart attack by 45%, Dr. Sinatra recommends to increase that dose to at least two grams and possibly consider up to four grams.

But omega-3s are only one of several nutrients Dr. Sinatra recommends post heart attack. He also suggests taking Coenzyme Q10 (100–200 mg daily), L-carnitine (1–2 grams in divided doses), D-ribose (10–15 grams in divided doses two to three times daily) and magnesium (200–400 mg daily). Dr. Sinatra says that these nutrients also help to support the heart during the critical first hours and days after a cardiac event.

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