27 Oct Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked to Improved Outcomes after Heart Attack

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Bayes-Genis

Antoni Bayes-Genis, MD, PhD, FESC, FHFA
Head, Heart Institute. Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol
Full Professor, Autonomous University Barcelona

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Omega-3 fatty acids are incorporated into the phospholipids of cellular membranes, including cardiac contractile cells, and have a wide range of demonstrated physiological effects. Several potential mechanisms have been investigated, including antiarrhythmic, anti-inflammatory, and endothelial.

Omega-3 fatty acids lower heart rate and improve heart rate variability, both associated with lower sudden cardiac death risk, one of the complications that may occur after a myocardial infarction.

Increased omega-3 fatty acids also enhance arterial elasticity by increasing endothelium-derived vasodilators, which is associated with blood pressure–lowering effects.
They also have a cardioprotective effect on platelet-monocyte aggregation, and lower triglyceride levels.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: In the setting of STEMI the cardiac contractile cells (or cardiomyocytes) die and release their content (including the content of their lipidic membranes) to the circulation. Measurement of omega-3 in serum, as performed in our study, indicates enrichment of theses fatty acids in the lipid bilayer of the membranes of dying cardiomyocytes, and this is a proxy of the dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids in the last 3-4 weeks.

Whether patients with a STEMI and high omega-3 do have other healthier lifestyle habits is beyond the scope of our study, but it certainly indicates healthy eating -in terms of a diet rich in cold-water oily fish (such as salmon, anchovies, herring, mackerel, tuna, sardines), seeds, and nuts- the weeks preceding the infarct, and this has impact on prognosis.

These data provide novel scientific evidence to strongly support the recommendation that omega-3 fatty acids be an integral component of a heart-healthy dietary pattern.

Clinicians should recommend eating food rich in omega-3 fatty acids in patients with STEMI to reduce the risk of adverse events during follow-up.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: In the COVID-19 pandemic, more than ever, we need to do our best to stay healthy. A good way to stay healthy is to enrich our cell membranes with omega-3 fatty acids to keep ourselves home and to avoid having to see a doctor or visit an emergency room or a hospital 

Disclosures:

AstraZeneca, Vifor, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Abbott, Roche Diagnostics, and Critical Diagnostics.

No relationship relative to the contents of the manuscript to disclose.

Citation:

Circulating Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Incident Adverse Events in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction
Iolanda Lázaro, Ferran Rueda, Germán Cediel, Emilio Ortega, Cosme García-García, Aleix Sala-Vila, Antoni Bayés-Genís

2020 Nov, 76 (18) 2089-2097.

Last Modified: [last-modified]

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Last Updated on October 27, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD