Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) should consume one serving of oily fish or three fish oil supplement capsules a day, according to new recommendations from the American Heart Association(AHA).
The AHA already advises that everyone should eat at least two servings of fish each week but has now expanded its guidance to include recommendations for patients with documented CHD and for patients with raised triglyceride levels.
Dr Penny Kris-Etherton, professor of nutrition at
Pennsylvania State University, and Dr William Harris, from
the AHA nutrition committee, put forward the recommendations
at the AHA annual scientific sessions held in Chicago in Nov
2002. They said that people with CHD should consume 1g of
the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) every day. Patients with raised
triglyceride levels should consume 2–4g of EPA/DHA per
day.
The AHA says that a dietary approach to increasing omega-3 fatty acids is preferable but acknowledges that for patients with CHD or raised triglyceride levels these doses may be greater than can be readily achieved through diet alone. "For these individuals who cannot or will not eat fish the evidence supports the use of supplements to decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke," Dr Harris said.
Dr Harris pointed out that most fish supplements contain about 0.3g of EPA/DHA, so three capsules would be needed to approximate the recommended daily dose for patients with CHD.
The recommendations are also published in Circulation (2002; 106:2747).
