HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leaf, A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Leaf, A. Agricola Articles by Leaf, A.

Historical overview of n–3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease^1,2,3

¹ From the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114

ABSTRACT

The first evidence that fish oil fatty acids might have a beneficial effect on coronary heart disease came from the discovery that Greenland Eskimos, who have a diet high in n–3 fatty acids, have a lower mortality from coronary heart disease than do Danes and Americans. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential in our diets and can be classified in 2 groups: n–6 fatty acids found in plant seeds and n–3 fatty acids found in marine vertebrates. Further evidence of n–3 benefits to human health include a 1989 study demonstrating a 29% reduction in fatal cardiac arrhythmias among subjects with a recent myocardial infarction who had been advised to consume fish oil. The GISSI-Prevenzione Trial found a significant reduction in relative reduction of death, cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stroke in subjects consuming n–3 fatty acids. In a recent study, subjects with implanted cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) at high risk for fatal ventricular arrhythmias were randomly assigned to four 1-g capsules of either an ethyl ester concentrate of n–3 fatty acids or olive oil daily for 12 mo. Subjects receiving n–3 who thus had significantly higher levels of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in their red blood cell membranes showed a longer time to first ICD events and had a significantly lower relative risk of having an ICD event or probable event (P = 0.033). These studies demonstrate that fish oil fatty acids have beneficial effects on coronary heart disease.