Omega-3 Index and Cardiovascular Health
1
Preventive Cardiology, Medical Clinic and Poli-Clinic I, Ludwig Maximilians-University Munich, Ziemssenstr. 1, Munich 80336, Germany
2
Omegametrix, Am Klopferspitz 19, Martinsried 82152, Germany
Nutrients 2014, 6(2), 799-814; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6020799
Received: 20 January 2014
/
Revised: 12 February 2014
/
Accepted: 13 February 2014
/
Published: 21 February 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability)
Recent large trials with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the cardiovascular field did not demonstrate a beneficial effect in terms of reductions of clinical endpoints like total mortality, sudden cardiac arrest or other major adverse cardiac events. Pertinent guidelines do not uniformly recommend EPA + DHA for cardiac patients. In contrast, in epidemiologic findings, higher blood levels of EPA + DHA were consistently associated with a lower risk for the endpoints mentioned. Because of low biological and analytical variability, a standardized analytical procedure, a large database and for other reasons, blood levels of EPA + DHA are frequently assessed in erythrocytes, using the HS-Omega-3 Index® methodology. A low Omega-3 Index fulfills the current criteria for a novel cardiovascular risk factor. Neutral results of intervention trials can be explained by issues of bioavailability and trial design that surfaced after the trials were initiated. In the future, incorporating the Omega-3 Index into trial designs by recruiting participants with a low Omega-3 Index and treating them within a pre-specified target range (e.g., 8%–11%), will make more efficient trials possible and provide clearer answers to the questions asked than previously possible.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
cardiovascular disease; eicosapentaenoic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; omega-3 index; cardiovascular prevention
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Von Schacky, C. Omega-3 Index and Cardiovascular Health. Nutrients 2014, 6, 799-814. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6020799
AMA Style
Von Schacky C. Omega-3 Index and Cardiovascular Health. Nutrients. 2014; 6(2):799-814. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6020799
Chicago/Turabian StyleVon Schacky, Clemens. 2014. "Omega-3 Index and Cardiovascular Health" Nutrients 6, no. 2: 799-814. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6020799
Find Other Styles
