March 14, 2017 — A new American Heart Association report says people with heart failure may live longer by taking omega-3 fish oil supplements because they seem to reduce the heart disease death rate by almost 10 percent.
The association had previously concluded that such supplements may prevent death from heart disease in people who have already had a heart attack, but warned there is no solid evidence that fish oil can prevent heart disease in the first place, primarily because the issue hasn’t been studied.
“Reducing mortality by 10 percent would be important from a personal level and a population level,” coauthor Dr. David Siscovick said about the new advice for people with heart failure.
The scientific advisory published in the association’s journal Circulation updates a 2002 guidance with data from 15 newer studies. It comes at a time when about 19 million Americans – nearly 8 percent of the U.S. population – are already taking the supplements, many of whom may not be getting any real value from them.