Fish Oil Keeps Arteries Supple

Fish oil supplementation improves arterial elasticity compared with placebo in overweight patients with high blood pressure.* Arterial stiffness in hypertensive or elderly patients may predispose to cardiovascular disease.

The 52 Chinese patients were randomly assigned to take fish oil capsules (3,000 mg/day) or placebo. After eight weeks, large-artery elasticity was significantly improved in the fish oil group compared with baseline, but no effect was found in the placebo group. No changes occurred in small-artery elasticity or blood pressure in either group. The increase in arterial elasticity correlated with the degree of increase in the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids in the blood.

The results suggest that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil exert a direct and rapid effect on improving arterial elasticity in overweight, hypertensive patients, but further study is needed to prove a similar benefit for aging-related arterial stiffness

-Laura J. Ninger, ELS

* Wang S, Ma AQ, Song SW, Quan QH, Zhao XF, Zheng XH. Fish oil supplementation improves large arterial elasticity in overweight hypertensive patients. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 Dec;62(l2):1426-31.