Fish oil can be a useful treatment for heart failure patients, according to a new European study.
Italian researchers found that patients who took a regular dose of fish oil seemed to have a reduced risk of dying, according to the study reported to a major conference yesterday.
Heart specialists have gathered in Munich, Germany, for the conference of the European Society of Cardiology.
Nearly 7,000 patients were involved in the Italian study and were given n-3 PUFA – fish oil – or a placebo treatment for approximately four years.
The researchers found a two percentage point difference in death rates between those who took fish oil and those who took placebo. About 28 per cent of the patients died during the study.
There was a similar difference when rates of admission to hospital were counted.
The researchers, led by Professor Luigi Tavazzi, of the Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, said that one death was avoided for every 56 patients treated for 3.9 years.
They state: "A simple, safe and cheap treatment with n-3 PUFA can provide a moderate beneficial advantage in terms of mortality and admission to hospital for cardiovascular reasons in patients with chronic heart failure in a context of usual care."
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