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Fish Oil Supplements and Leaky Heart Valve

Posted by grrranny @grrranny, Jun 8, 2024

I was surprised to hear that a visiting doctor told 83 year-old hubby at his Pulmonary Rehab last week that due to his leaky heart valve, he should not be taking the fish oil supplements he's been taking for many years. Why would he give this advice, when hubby has not been having any problems? We've always thought that Omega-3s were beneficial to heart and lung health. And I've read tons of articles confirming that very thing tonight, in fact. Wondering if he misunderstood what the doctor said, due to his hearing issues (sometimes even with hearing aids)?
Can anyone offer any ideas or personal experience on this seemingly conflicting advice?

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jun 10, 2024
In reply to @fortunateoldguy "Your husband’s doctor’s advice is correct. The active components in fish oil is EPA and DHA..." + (show)
@fortunateoldguy

Your husband’s doctor’s advice is correct. The active components in fish oil is EPA and DHA and they both have been shown in recent research to be pro-arrhythmic and can cause AFIB and other arrhythmias, particularly at higher doses and in older people. Above 1 gram per day is generally considered high dose.

Fish oil also promotes bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke and is contraindicated in people taking anti-platelet, anticoagulant, aspirin, etc. medications. Fish oil could potentially cause your husbands leaky heart valve to leak even more from its blood thinning effects.

Similarly, other peer reviewed research shows the benefit of taking fish oil is no better than a placebo and can actually be dangerous in some people.

The one indication for taking fish oil is for people with high triglycerides that can’t be controlled by diet or other medications.

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@fortunateoldguy, I noticed that you wished to post a URL to a journal article with your reply. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe.

Allow me to post it for you:
- Omega-3 fatty acids and atrial fibrillation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10175873/

PS: I'll add links to your other posts as well. Thank you for posting evidence-based resources and information.

REPLY
1 reply
fortunateoldguy | @fortunateoldguy | Jun 10, 2024
In reply to @colleenyoung "@fortunateoldguy, I noticed that you wished to post a URL to a journal article with your..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@fortunateoldguy, I noticed that you wished to post a URL to a journal article with your reply. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe.

Allow me to post it for you:
- Omega-3 fatty acids and atrial fibrillation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10175873/

PS: I'll add links to your other posts as well. Thank you for posting evidence-based resources and information.

Jump to this post

Thank you, Colleen. Much appreciated.

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