The research has found out that the omega-3 fatty acids can do better job in reducing heart problems when taken along with statins. This means that the omega-3 fatty acids help statins do their protective job.
The omega-3 fatty acid technically called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is typically found in fish and fish oil. A leading researcher Dr. Mitsuhiro Yokoyama says that the long term use of EPA at therapeutic doses is very effective for avoiding coronary events for patients with high cholesterol.
This study is interesting because it is done in Japan where fish consumption is more. This could also be a reason for the lower rate of deaths from coronary artery disease in Japan compared with the United States.
An assistant professor Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, says that this is a further evidence of benifical effects of omega-3 fatty acids in protecting against heart related diseases and heart attacks. He also said that they were testing a trial to find out the effect of mixing EPA with statins in medicine to prevent or reduce cardiac events. He says that putting statins and EPA in a single pill is just marketing. He advices to eat fish twice a week to protect the heart.
