n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are still underappreciated and underused post myocardial infarction

• Published in: Heart
• Main Authors: Khavandi, Ali, Khavandi, Kaivan, Greenstein, Adam, Karsch, Karl, Heagerty, Anthony
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: British Medical Journal Publishing Group 2009
• Subjects: Viewpoint; Greenland; eskimo*
• Online Access: http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/hrt.2008.161430v1; https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.2008.161430

Interest in the possible cardio-protective effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) has existed since the late 1970s. Early observations in Greenland Eskimos and the Japanese population linked a fatty fish oil rich diet with lower rates of heart disease. Now there is good evidence that n-3 PUFA and specifically the Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexenoic acid (DHA) subgroups confer protection from coronary heart disease (CHD). This benefit appears most pronounced on CHD mortality and sudden cardiac death, which is 50% lower in men who consume oily fish at least once a week1. Multiple epidemiological studies have repeatedly confirmed this trend and suggest an inverse relationship between n-3 PUFA containing fish consumption and CHD death2-4.