By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, October 20, 2009, abstracted from “Blood Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Data From Infarction Prognosis Study (IPS) Registry” printed online September 29, 2009 in Ciculation Journal

The American Heart Association estimates that 1 out of every 5 deaths (445,687 deaths) in the United States in 2005 were due to heart attacks.  Nearly 1.3 million heart attacks occur each year (1) at a cost of nearly $152 billion each year (2).  

The American Heart Association has identified several risk factors for a heart attack, including smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, and having diabetes (3). Now a new study (4) has found that having adequate blood levels of omega-3 fatty acid as EPA may help maintain heart health.

The study involved 508 hospital patients from the Infarction Prognosis Study Registry with an average age of 63 who recently had a heart attack (within 24 hours). The researchers, who followed the patients for 16 months, measured their blood levels of two omega-3 fatty acids that are primarily found in fish oil: EPA and DHA.  They found that, compared to those with the lowest blood levels of EPA (< 1.26%), those with the highest blood levels of EPA (> 1.65%) had a 71% reduced risk of death from all causes.  This decreased risk was seen only in women, not in men, and no significant decreases were associated with DHA levels.  The other significant factor was kidney healthy; “renal insufficiency” (poor function of the kidneys that may be due to a reduction in blood-flow to the kidneys (UC Davis)) was found to increase the risk of death from all causes by 349%.

For the researchers, “Lower plasma level of EPA, but not DHA, was an independent predictor for all-cause-mortality in patients [after a heart attack], but this relationship was significant only in female patients.”

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at  www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

1. “Heart Attack and Angina Statistics” posted on  www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4591
2. American Heart Association Update.  Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2007 Update.  Circulation. 2007;115:e69-e171
3. “Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease” posted on www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726
4. Lee SH.  Blood Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Data From Infarction Prognosis Study (IPS) Registry.  Circ Jou 2009,
5. “Renal Insufficiency” posted on www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/vascular/diseases/renal_insufficiency.html