Medscape article - fish oil and heart transplants (more good news)

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Fish Oil Restores Electrical Activity in Transplanted Heart

By Martha Kerr

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 27 - Heart transplant patients who take omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) from fatty fish or fish oil have lower heart rates and prolonged QRS intervals, likely through improvement in vagal tone, Kansas City cardiologists report.

Based on previous research that showed that n-3 FA supplementation for four months reduced heart rate 5 beats/min in patients with coronary heart disease, Dr. S. and colleagues at the Mid American Heart Institute and the University of Missouri at Kansas City analyzed electrographic data from two prospective trials that included 52 patients with denervated hearts after orthotopic heart transplantation.

In the first study, conducted in 1997, 27 patients were randomized to corn oil placebo or 3.4 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) daily for 4 months.. In the second study, conducted in 2002, 25 patients received 1,000 mg EPA plus DHA for 6 months.

A mean of 4.4 years after transplantation, QRS interval increased from 107 ms to 117 ms and heart rate decreased from 88 beats/min to 83 beats/min. QTc duration was unchanged with n-3 FA supplementation, the team reports in the November 15th issue of the American Journal of Cardiology,

The original objective of the two studies was to assess the effects of n-3FA on serum lipids and the incorporation of n-3FA into the cardiac membranes, Dr. cautioned. " The results we reported were a retrospective look at data [electrophysiologic endpoints] that were not originally intended to be the object of study, " he told Reuters Health.

N-3 FA appears to have a positive effect on myocardial electrophysiology, as well, he said.

" I advocate increased long-chain omega-3 intakes, 500-1000 mg/d for general heart health as recommended by the American Heart Association. Durations should not be for ONLY 4 months; they should be on-going, much as aspirin is seen as a preventive agent in heart health, so too for omega-3 fatty acids, " Dr. said.

Dr. , now affiliated with the University of South Dakota in Sioux Falls, is studying the possible use of blood omega-3 levels as a new and potentially unique risk factor for sudden cardiac death.

Am J Cardiol 2006;98:1393-1395.