Maevian 31/Dreamstime
Recent trials of fish oil for prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence have provided mixed results. In the quest for a definitive answer, researchers led by Anil Nigam, from the University of Montreal, Canada, performed AFFORD, a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 337 patients with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent AF.
According to the research published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2014;64[14]:1441-1448)[1]
, high-dose fish oil (4g/day) did not reduce the primary endpoint, symptomatic or asymptomatic AF recurrence, versus placebo when taken for up to 16 months (median 271 days). AF recurrence rates were 64.1% with fish-oil supplements and 63.2% with placebo. Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were not reduced by fish oil, which the researchers say may explain its lack of efficacy.
