OMEGA-3 OILS PREVENT SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH
The Sudden Deaths of Sports Heroes John Unitas, Dave DeBusschere, and Darryl Kyle Should Have Raised Awareness That Most of the 250,000 Sudden Cardiac Deaths Annually Can Be Prevented with Fish Oils
.Why We Keep Missing the Message.
On June 22, 2002, Darryl Kile, All-Star pitcher
for the St. Louis Cardinals, suffered a heart attack and died alone in his
hotel room. He was 33.
On July 22, 2002, Prince Ahmed bin Salman of
Saudi Arabia, the owner of War Emblem, which won the 2002 Kentucky Derby and
Preakness, and of Point Given, the 2001 horse of the year, died shortly after
a heart attack. He was 43.
On September 11, 2002, Johnny Unitas, legendary
quarterback and, in some experts' opinion, the greatest football player ever,
died suddenly while working out near Baltimore. He was 69.
Could these deaths, and 250,000 others like
them that occur every year in America, have been avoided? In the majority
of cases, yes.
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a huge and very
common problem that "accounts for about 50% of cardiovascular mortality
in developed countries," according to the European Heart Journal
(1). Cardiovascular death is the #1 killer
in the U.S. and other western countries.
If you consider yourself safe because your cholesterol
levels are low and you have no heart problems...don't. Half of all SCD --
125,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone -- occur in people with no history
of heart disease. SCD usually occurs without early warning, away from hospitals.
Death comes quickly, usually within minutes or hours.
What causes SCD? The common belief is a massive
heart attack. In fact, heart attacks may trigger SCD, but they usually aren't
the actual killers. What is? Cardiac arrythmias: disruptions in the heart's
electrical system that makes the heart rhythm unstable and ineffective.
What can you do? A lot -- and quite easily -- fortunately. Just two months before Kile's death, newspapers and TV news reported three impressive studies published almost simultaneously in respected medical journals. The April 11, 2002, New England Journal of Medicine stated:
"The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are strongly associated with a reduced risk of sudden death among men without evidence of prior cardiovascular disease." In this study, men with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids had an 81% lower risk of sudden death than men with the lowest levels (2).
Similar findings were reported in studies in Circulation (3) and JAMA (involving women)(4).
The Media Drops the Ball
So when Darryl Kile died two months later, reporters
asked about his diet, right? No. Well, they asked whether he ate fish or took
omega-3 fish oil supplements, right? No.
But aren't these obvious questions? Yes. Indeed,
Kile's father died from heart disease at age 44, so reporters did ask whether
Kile's cardiac risk should have been assessed and if, perhaps, Kile should
have been taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. But no one mentioned fish
oils.
How about after bin Salman and Unitas suffered
SCD? Did anyone ask about their nutrition? No. Why not? The failure of intelligent
reporters to ask such obvious, important questions is symbolic of the disconnect
in our consciousness about medical problems. In a rational healthcare system,
we'd consider nutrition solutions first, natural supplements second, and drugs
third and last. But drugs get the major play in news reports, and the drug
industry's huge profits are fueled into pervasive drug advertising to dominate
our awareness, so drugs are our first consideration while natural, safer,
proven-effective solutions are ignored.
It's as if we cannot believe that nutritional
interventions could be as powerful as pharmaceutical ones. That's exactly
what the drug industry wants us to believe, and that's exactly how doctors
act. But consider the numbers. Statins, so highly touted by mainstream medicine,
reduce cardiac mortality 25%-33%. Fish oils reduce SCD 40%-80% -- and have
many other benefits as well. These numbers aren't directly comparable, but
they do indicate the importance of fish oils in cardiac health.
Fish Oils Vs. Statins
So why do statins make headlines while fish oils are
ignored? Why have doctors made the statins Lipitor and Zocor the #1 and #2
best-selling drugs in America, yet hardly ever mention fish oils to patients?
And aren't doctors supposed to practice with
the philosophy of "Do No Harm?" Statins cause side effects in 15%-35%
of patients (5-8). Some side effects (liver
failure, severe muscle injury, kidney failure, nerve injuries), albeit infrequent,
are serious.
In contrast, fish oils are nutrients our bodies
need to function properly and ward off disease. Fish oils reduce triglyceride
levels, and when taken with a small amount of gamma-linoleic acid (GLA, an
omega-6 fatty acid), reduce LDL levels, too. Omega-3 oils improve glucose
metabolism, reduce insulin reactivity, improve vascular flexibility and reduce
blood pressure. In addition, fish oils appear to help prevent cancer of the
breast, colon, and prostate.
Other contrasts: statins cost about $100/month;
fish oils, about $15. Fish oils have few if any side effects. The only one
mentioned is a possible reduction in platelet clumping, which usually is a
benefit. But if you take anticoagulants (warfarin, Coumadin), you shouldn't
use fish oils. And if you take aspirin, check with your doctor.
The issue here isn't whether fish oils are better
than statins. Fish oils and statins do very different things. Statins are
extremely important drugs that benefit millions of people. Indeed, many of
the millions of people taking statins might benefit even further by the addition
of omega-3 fatty acids (ask your doctor). Thus, the point is that fish oils
deserve equally widespread recognition as a major factor in maintaining everyone's
cardiovascular health.
One of Our Most Important Cardiac Therapies
Overall, I would argue that fish oils are one
of our most beneficial cardiac therapies. Indeed, the three journal articles
in May were hardly new findings. We began learning about fish oils in the
late 1970s, when studies showed that Eskimos, despite fat-laden diets, had
substantially fewer heart attacks than westerners. The observation that fish
oils might be beneficial launched a new field of research, as described in
the 2000 Mayo Clinic Proceedings:
"These observations generated more than 4,500 studies to explore this and other effects of omega-3 fatty acids on human metabolism and health. From epidemiology to cell culture and animal studies to randomized controlled trials, the cardioprotective effects of omega-3 fatty acids are becoming recognized (9)."
Such recognition has come slowly. The most impressive
study, a large, placebo-controlled Italian study (GISSI), was published in
Lancet in 1999. More than 11,000 people with recent heart attacks were given
1 gram/day of omega-3 oils or placebo for three and a half years. The omega-3
group had significantly fewer heart attacks and strokes, 45% fewer cardiac
deaths, and 20% fewer deaths from all causes (10).
Unfortunately, most Western diets are deficient
in omega-3 fatty acids. Experts recommend about 3 grams of omega-3s daily,
but the average U.S. intake is only 1.6 g/day (6).
Over the years, people become more and more deficient -- and more and more
vulnerable to a host of diseases including SCD. Thus, Dr. Christine M. Albert,
chief of cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and chief investigator
of the New England Journal study advised, "The higher your blood level
of omega-3, the lower your risk (11)."
The type of fish oil you get is as important
as the amount. Eat fatty, ocean fish (salmon, swordfish, sardines, fatty tuna)
twice a week. Or take 2-3 grams of fresh, high-quality fish oil capsules daily.
Learning from Prior Experience?
The premature deaths of Darryl Kile, Ahmed bin
Salman, and John Unitas were tragedies -- likely preventable tragedies. So
are the majority of the 700 sudden cardiac deaths that occur every day in
America and thousands of others occurring worldwide. Will they be prevented?
On May 14, 2003, Dave DeBusschere, All-Star forward for the New York Knicks
championship teams of the 1970s, suffered a heart attack on a lower Manhattan
street and died soon afterward. He was 62. None of the reports I saw mentioned
his diet or whether he got enough fish oils. Another lesson lost.
So you have to be your own researcher today.
Doctors' education is slanted toward drugs. Once practicing, most doctors'
information about treatment comes from the drug industry. Most doctors sincerely
want to help their patients, but their perspective is narrow and their knowledge
of nutritional interventions is scant. And the healthcare system today affords
doctors little time to do their own research into better therapies.
Therefore, it isn't surprising that doctors
know so much about statins, yet so little about fish oils. This bias is symptomatic
of an overly drug-oriented medical system that favors drugs over scientifically-sound
nutrition-based therapies. When a new statin study is published, it's manufacturer
has a well-oiled PR department to spread the word to the media, and thousands
of drug sales representatives to use the study to impress doctors. But there's
no big money or PR machine backing nutritional therapies.
Thus, unfortunately, you cannot rely on most
doctors or the media today for a balanced picture. Studies have shown that
less than 10% of patients visiting their doctors receive enough information
to fulfill their right of informed consent (12).
And while even marginally meaningful statin studies make headlines, studies
about fish oils possibly reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease are relegated
to the back pages (13). So you must inform
yourself. And while you're doing it, inform your doctor about fish oils for
preventing SCD, so that perhaps he/she can inform the people following you.
References
1. de Lorgeril, M, Salen, P, Defaye, P, et al. Dietary prevention of sudden
cardiac death. European Heart Journal 2002;23:277-285.
2. Albert, CM, Campos, H, Stampfer, MJ, et al. Blood Levels of Long-Chain
N-3 Fatty Acids and the Risk of Sudden Death. New England Journal of Medicine
2002;346(15):1113-18.
3. Marchioli, R, Barzi, F, Bomba, E, et al. Early Protection against Sudden
Death by N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids after Myocardial Infarction. Circulation
2002;105:1897-1903.
4. Hu, FB, Bronner, L, Willett, WC, et al. Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake
and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women. JAMA 2002;287(14):1815-21.
5. Physicians' Desk Reference, 55th Edition, Montvale, N.J.: Medical Economics
Company, 2001.
6. Wierzbicki, AS, Lumb, PJ, Semra, Y, et al. Atorvastatin compared with simvastatin-based
therapies in the management of severe familial hyperlipidaemias. Qjm 1999;92(7):387-94.
7. Bertolini, S, Bon, GB, Campbell, LM, et al. Efficacy and safety of atorvastatin
compared to pravastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Atherosclerosis
1997;130(1-2):191-7.
8. Marz W, Wollschlager H, Klein G, et al. Safety of low-density lipoprotein
cholestrol reduction with atorvastatin versus simvastatin in a coronary heart
disease population (the TARGET TANGIBLE trial). American Journal of Cardiology
1999;84(1):7-13.
9. O'Keefe, JH Jr, Harris, WS. From Inuit to implementation: omega-3 fatty
acids come of age. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2000;75(6):607-14.
10. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin
E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet
1999;354(9177):447-55.
11. Grady, D. More Support for Eating Fatty Fish. New York Times, 4/10/2002:www.nytimes.com.
12. Braddock, CH, Edwards, KA, Hasenberg, NM, et al. Informed Decision Making
in Outpatient Practice: Time to Get Back to Basics. JAMA 1999;282:2313-20.
13. Associated Press. For seniors, eating fish may cut risk of Alzheimer's.
Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2003.
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