Studies in animals and four randomized trials in people have shown that eating fish or taking fish oil supplements reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death. Heart attacks are the most common cause of sudden death. However, because fish and fish oils did not lower the number of heart attacks in the patients participating in these trials, researchers have concluded that the decrease in sudden death resulted from protection against deadly abnormalities in heart rhythms. This protection is due to the presence of a particular type of fat, omega-3 fatty acids, in fish and fish oil supplements. Numerous studies have also shown that fish oil supplements lower blood triglyceride levels.

Based on these findings, the American Heart Association has recommended that people without known coronary heart disease (CHD) should eat a variety of fish at least twice a week and that patients with CHD should consume about one gram each day of EPA plus DHA, the two major omega-3 fatty acids in fish and fish oil supplements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the health claim that foods containing omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of CHD. To lower triglycerides, patients need to take fish oil capsules containing 2 to 4 grams of EPA plus DHA daily.

Next week, I?ll tell you about a study that raises some concerns about fish oil supplements.