Study Finds Fish Won't Prevent Heart Failure

Oct. 1 -- WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- While eating fish does appear to help protect against heart attacks and other cardiovascular disease, a new Dutch study finds it doesn't seem to guard against the development of heart failure.

Heart failure is a degenerative condition, but with the right treatment and lifestyle people are living longer with it. In fact, some 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure, and 670,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the American Heart Association.

"We examined whether the intake of fish and its omega-3 fatty acids could protect against the development of heart failure in people who had no history of coronary heart disease," said lead researcher J. Marianne Geleijnse, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Wageningen University. "However, we found no association except for a possible protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids against heart failure in a subgroup with diabetes."

There is strong evidence for a general cardioprotective effect of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, although the underlying mechanisms are not yet clear, Geleijnse said.

The report is published in the October issue of the European Journal of Heart Failure.

For the study, Geleijnse's team collected data on 5,299 men and women who participated in the Rotterdam Study. The researchers wanted to see if the omega-3 fatty acids in fish could protect people from developing heart failure as they appear to protect people from other types of heart trouble.

Over almost 12 years of follow-up, the researchers found that 669 people developed heart failure.

Geleijnse's group found that eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids was not significantly related to developing heart failure in either men or women. Both types of these acids the researchers looked at (EPA and DHA) have been linked to reduced blood pressure, heart rate, arrhythmias and triglyceride levels, all of which are associated with risk of heart attack and heart disease.