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Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Prevent More Sudden Deaths Than Implant Defibrillators9/5/2006 - Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent more sudden deaths than automated external defibrillators (AED) in homes and public places or implanted defibrillators, according to the results of this new study. Researchers compared these preventive strategies in a computer-simulated community of 100,000 people that resembled the population of Olmsted County, Minnesota, in 2000. By increasing omega-3 fatty acids levels among the cyber citizens, Thomas Kottke, M.D., and colleagues were able to decrease overall death rates in the simulated population by 6.4 percent. By contrast, AEDs reduced death rates by about 0.8 percent, and implanted defibrillators (ICDs) reduced deaths by 3.3 percent, found the researchers led by Kottke, a cardiologist at the Heart Center, Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. People can raise their omega-3 fatty acid levels by taking supplements or eating omega-3 fatty fish. The study showed that raising omega-3 fatty acids “would have about eight times the impact of distributing AEDs and two times the impact of implanting ICDs,” Kottke said. Three-quarters of the decline in deaths from the increased omega-3 fatty acid levels would come from raising omega-3s among the healthy portion of the population, according to the researchers. Raising blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids in individuals after a heart attack could save 58 lives a year, according to the simulation’s predictions. Only seven lives per year were saved by AEDs, while implantable defibrillators prevented 30 deaths each year under simulation conditions. “Despite the fact that AEDs do save lives, they are unlikely to ever have a substantial impact on rates of sudden death,” Kottke said, explaining that a whole chain of events — from speedy application of the device to surviving in the hospital — has to occur to save a person with an AED. Other studies propose that proper AED training may also make a difference in how safely the devices would be used if they were as widely available as in the simulation. A recent study by Mary Ann Peberdy, M.D., of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System and colleagues found very few harmful incidents related to AED use by training lay volunteers. “There were no inappropriate shocks and no failures to shock when indicated,” Peberdy said of the study, which included more than a thousand public facilities and residences in the United States and Canada. “AEDs have an exceptionally high safety profile when used by trained lay responders,” she added. Kottke and colleagues also note the comparative costs of omega-3 versus defibrillator treatment. For example, a population similar to the simulation could raise their omega-3 levels with daily supplements for $5.8 million a year. If however, a large proportion of the community ate fish high in omega-3 or took purified omega-3 supplements like Coromega, rather than other meat, much of the cost would be offset. Equipping every household in a similar population with an AED would cost $201 million, the researchers estimate. However, their analysis shows that equipping first responders such as paramedics and firefighters with AEDs for a comparable population would be “relatively inexpensive,” costing only $195,000, Kottke said. Reference: Home | Products | Our Ingredients | News | Contact | Our Vision | Stretch Marks Lotion Sales & Shipping | Retailers | Privacy Policy | Legal | Links | Testimonials |
