Eating fish to lower risk of coronary artery disease

Eating fish may lower your risk of coronary artery disease.¹ The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults eat at least two servings of fish per week. Oily fish, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, are best for your heart. These fish include tuna, salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring, and sardines.²

In people with heart problems, omega-3 fatty acids may help lower their risk of death. Omega-3 fatty acids can:³

• Lower levels of triglycerides (fats that may help clog arteries).
• Affect blood clotting.
• Lower blood pressure.

Omega-3 fatty acids also lower the risk of sudden cardiac death and abnormal heartbeats.

If you have high triglycerides, your doctor may recommend that you take a daily fish oil supplement with 2 to 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Do not take more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids supplements without consulting your doctor, because high amounts can cause excessive bleeding in some people.⁴ Your doctor may prescribe a medicine that is a highly concentrated form of omega-3 fatty acids.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommend that women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children^{5, 6} should not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish, because these fish have higher mercury concentrations. But for middle-aged and older people, the protection fish offer the heart outweighs the risks of eating these fish. Eating a variety of fish may reduce the amount of mercury you eat.

Citations

1. Stone NJ (1996). Fish consumption, fish oil, lipids, and coronary heart disease. Circulation, 94(9): 2337–2340.

2. American Heart Association (2006). Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006. Circulation, 114(1): 82–96.

3. Kris-Etherton P, et al. (2001). Summary of the scientific conference on dietary fatty acids and cardiovascular health: Conference summary from the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association. Circulation, 103(7): 1034–1039.

4. Kris-Etherton PM, et al. (2002). Fish consumption, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation, 106(21): 2747–2757.

5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2004). What you need to know about mercury in fish and shellfish: 2004 EPA and FDA advice for women who might become pregnant, women who are pregnant, nursing mothers, young children. Available online: http://www.epa.gov/ost/fishadvice/advice.html.

6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006). Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish. Available online: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html.