Fish oil supplements found to set off irregular heartbeats

[Guest guest]

Fish oil supplements found to set off irregular

heartbeats

By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY

Fish oil supplements could trigger potentially deadly

heart rhythms in people whose hearts already beat

dangerously out of sync, doctors report today.

The finding, from a study of 200 patients with

implanted defibrillators that shock the heart back to

a normal rhythm, surprised researchers who expected to

find that fish oil guards against rhythm abnormalities

in patients who need protection most.

The heart gets its pumping power from cells that fire

in sequence as electrical charges race from one cell

to another. Rhythm disturbances occur when these

circuits misfire, causing the heart to beat out of

sync and lose its pumping power. The result can be

death caused by a kind of electrical storm rather than

the clogged arteries that cause " standard " heart

attacks.

Four previous studies have shown that fish oils cut

the risk of fatal heart rhythm problems, called

arrhythmias, in patients who had had standard heart

attacks.

The research team chose to test fish oil in patients

who were prone to arrhythmias because any benefits

probably would be obvious and apply to a lot of

people. About 150,000 people each year receive

implanted defibrillators.

Recommendations for omega-3 fatty acids

Patients with no heart disease: Eat a variety of fatty

fish at least twice a week. Diet should include other

sources, such as flaxseed, walnuts and canola and

soybean oils.

Patients with heart disease: Consume about 1 gram of

EPA and DHA - two types of omega-3 fatty acids - a

day, preferably from fatty fish. A doctor should be

consulted on the use of supplements.

Patients who need to lower blood fats: 2 to 4 grams of

EPA and DHA a day as capsules under a doctor's care.

Note: People who take more than 3 grams a day from

supplements should do so only under a doctor's care.

Source: American Heart Association

" Our initial thought was that this was a great

population in which to show that fish oil is

anti-arrhythmic, " says study leader Merritt Raitt of

the Portland VA Medical Center. His team's report

appears in today's Journal of the American Medical

Association.

The research was carried out at six major medical

centers from 1999 to 2003. Half of the patients were

given fish oil. The rest were given olive oil, a

placebo.

Researchers found that 65% of the patients who took

fish oil supplements developed rhythm disturbances

over the next six months, compared with 36% of those

in the placebo group.

Nearly two-thirds of subjects taking fish oil who had

a type of rapid heartbeat known as tachycardia

experienced episodes, compared with 37% of those

taking placebo.

" This is a really interesting study, " says Alice

Lichtenstein, a Tufts University cardiovascular

nutritionist. " It's telling us that just popping a

pill doesn't always lead to the expected result. It

may seem like a quick and easy way of treating a

problem, but usually things are a lot more complex. "

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids, the active ingredients in

fish oil, repeatedly have been linked to a decreased

heart disease risk because of their beneficial

properties, Lichtenstein says.

" They're anti-inflammatory, they minimize clot

formation, they may have a mild antihypertensive

effect, and, if people are eating fish, they're not

eating steak, " she says. " That decreases their fat

intake. "

Raitt says he can only speculate why fish oil hurt

rather than helped. But he says other drugs shown to

prevent rhythm disturbances also can cause them.

" Drugs that affect rhythms are double-edged swords, "

he says. " The people they're most likely to hurt are

the ones with the sickest hearts, with recurrent

arrhythmias, the ones we had in our study. "

Dr. DeSiena, D.C.

Washington Street Chiropractic Center, L.L.C.

771 Washington Street

Eugene, OR 97401

(541) 686-BACK (2225)

__________________________________

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Find restaurants, movies, travel and more fun for the weekend. Check it out!

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[Guest guest]

We are finding that the addition of liquid minerals (along with correction of the usually found hiatal hernia, of course) downtrend the arrythymias ... haven't done any studies of one without the other. SunnySunny Kierstyn, RN DC

Fibromyalgia Care Center of Oregon

@ Turtle Island Health Center

56 Oakway Center

Eugene, Oregon, 97401

541-683-5600

From: DeSiena <adesienadc@...> Subject: Fish oil supplements found to set off irregular heartbeatsDate: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 11:55:50 -0700 (PDT)Fish oil supplements found to set off irregularheartbeatsBy Steve Sternberg, USA TODAYFish oil supplements could trigger potentially deadlyheart rhythms in people whose hearts already beatdangerously out of sync, doctors report today.The finding, from a study of 200 patients withimplanted defibrillators that shock the heart back toa normal rhythm, surprised researchers who expected tofind that fish oil guards against rhythm abnormalitiesin patients who need protection most.The heart gets its pumping power from cells that firein sequence as electrical charges race from one cellto another. Rhythm disturbances occur when thesecircuits misfire, causing the heart to beat out ofsync and lose its pumping power. The result can bedeath caused by a kind of electrical storm rather thanthe clogged arteries that cause "standard" heartattacks.Four previous studies have shown that fish oils cutthe risk of fatal heart rhythm problems, calledarrhythmias, in patients who had had standard heartattacks.The research team chose to test fish oil in patientswho were prone to arrhythmias because any benefitsprobably would be obvious and apply to a lot ofpeople. About 150,000 people each year receiveimplanted defibrillators. Recommendations for omega-3 fatty acidsPatients with no heart disease: Eat a variety of fattyfish at least twice a week. Diet should include othersources, such as flaxseed, walnuts and canola andsoybean oils.Patients with heart disease: Consume about 1 gram ofEPA and DHA - two types of omega-3 fatty acids - aday, preferably from fatty fish. A doctor should beconsulted on the use of supplements.Patients who need to lower blood fats: 2 to 4 grams ofEPA and DHA a day as capsules under a doctor's care.Note: People who take more than 3 grams a day fromsupplements should do so only under a doctor's care.Source: American Heart Association"Our initial thought was that this was a greatpopulation in which to show that fish oil isanti-arrhythmic," says study leader Merritt Raitt ofthe Portland VA Medical Center. His team's reportappears in today's Journal of the American MedicalAssociation.The research was carried out at six major medicalcenters from 1999 to 2003. Half of the patients weregiven fish oil. The rest were given olive oil, aplacebo.Researchers found that 65% of the patients who tookfish oil supplements developed rhythm disturbancesover the next six months, compared with 36% of thosein the placebo group.Nearly two-thirds of subjects taking fish oil who hada type of rapid heartbeat known as tachycardiaexperienced episodes, compared with 37% of thosetaking placebo."This is a really interesting study," says AliceLichtenstein, a Tufts University cardiovascularnutritionist. "It's telling us that just popping apill doesn't always lead to the expected result. Itmay seem like a quick and easy way of treating aproblem, but usually things are a lot more complex."Dietary omega-3 fatty acids, the active ingredients infish oil, repeatedly have been linked to a decreasedheart disease risk because of their beneficialproperties, Lichtenstein says."They're anti-inflammatory, they minimize clotformation, they may have a mild antihypertensiveeffect, and, if people are eating fish, they're noteating steak," she says. "That decreases their fatintake."Raitt says he can only speculate why fish oil hurtrather than helped. But he says other drugs shown toprevent rhythm disturbances also can cause them."Drugs that affect rhythms are double-edged swords,"he says. "The people they're most likely to hurt arethe ones with the sickest hearts, with recurrentarrhythmias, the ones we had in our study."Dr. DeSiena, D.C.Washington Street Chiropractic Center, L.L.C.771 Washington StreetEugene, OR 97401(541) 686-BACK (2225)__________________________________Discover Find restaurants, movies, travel and more fun for the weekend. Check it out!http://discover./weekend.html