Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T10:41:40.468Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effect of n-3 fatty acids from fish on electrocardiographic characteristics in patients with frequent premature ventricular complexes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Anouk Geelen*
Affiliation:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) and Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Peter L. Zock
Affiliation:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) and Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Ingeborg A. Brouwer
Affiliation:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) and Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Martijn B. Katan
Affiliation:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) and Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Jan A. Kors
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Henk J. Ritsema van Eck
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Evert G. Schouten
Affiliation:
Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) and Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Anouk Geelen, fax +31 317 483342, email anouk.geelen@wur.nl
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

n-3 Fatty acids may protect against heart disease mortality by preventing fatal arrhythmias. Underlying effects on cardiac electrophysiology may be demonstrable in the standard electrocardiogram (ECG) and provide insight into the mechanism. Therefore, we investigated the effect of dietary n-3 fatty acids on heart-rate-corrected QT interval, T-loop width, spatial QRS-T angle and spatial U-wave amplitude in patients with frequent premature ventricular complexes. Seventy-four patients received either capsules providing 1·5 g n-3 fatty acids daily or placebo for approximately 14 weeks. ECG were recorded before and after intervention. None of the ECG characteristics was significantly affected by treatment. The present results do not provide additional support for the hypothesis that n-3 fatty acids prevent cardiac arrhythmia through generic electrophysiologic effects on heart cell membranes. However, we cannot exclude effects of n-3 fatty acids on clinical relevant endpoints that are not easily detected by prior changes in the ECG.

Type
Short communication
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Albert, CM, Campos, H, Stampfer, MJ, Ridker, PM, Manson, JE, Willett, WC & Ma, J (2002) Blood levels of long-chain n -3 fatty acids and the risk of sudden death. N Engl J Med 346, 11131118.Google Scholar
Billman, GE, Kang, JX & Leaf, A (1997) Prevention of ischemia-induced cardiac sudden death by n -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in dogs. Lipids 32, 11611168.Google Scholar
Brouwer, IA, Zock, PL, Wever, EF, Hauer, RN, Camm, AJ, Bocker, D, Otto-Terlouw, P, Katan, MB & Schouten, EG (2003) Rationale and design of a randomised controlled clinical trial on supplemental intake of n -3 fatty acids and incidence of cardiac arrhythmia: SOFA. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 13231330.Google Scholar
Burr, ML, Ashfield, WP, Dunstan, FDJ, Fehily, AM, Breay, P, Ashton, T, Zotos, PC, Haboubi, NAA & Elwood, PC (2003) Lack of benefit of dietary advice to men with angina: results of a controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 193200.Google Scholar
Burr, ML, Fehily, AM, Gilbert, JF, Rogers, S, Holliday, RM, Sweetnam, PM, Elwood, PC & Deadman, NM (1989) Effects of changes in fat, fish, and fibre intakes on death and myocardial reinfarction: diet and reinfarction trial (DART). Lancet 2, 757761.Google Scholar
Cleland, JG, Freemantle, N, Kaye, G, Nasir, M, Velavan, P, Lalukota, K, Mudawi, T, Shelton, R, Clark, AL & Coletta, AP (2004) Clinical trials update from the American Heart Association meeting: Omega-3 fatty acids and arrhythmia risk in patients with an implantable defibrillator, ACTIV in CHF, VALIANT, the Hanover autologous bone marrow transplantation study, SPORTIF V, ORBIT and PAD and DEFINITE. Eur J Heart Fail 6, 109115.Google Scholar
de-Bruyne, MCHoes, AW, Kors, JA, Hofman, A, van-Bemmel, JH & Grobbee, DE (1999) Prolonged QT interval predicts cardiac and all-cause mortality in the elderly. The Rotterdam Study. Eur Heart J 20, 278284.Google Scholar
Dekker, JM, Schouten, EG, Klootwijk, P, Pool, J & Kromhout, D (1994) Association between QT interval and coronary heart disease in middle-aged and elderly men. The Zutphen Study. Circulation 90, 779785.Google Scholar
Geelen, A, Brouwer, IA, Zock, PL, Kors, JA, Swenne, CA, Katan, MB & Schouten, EG (2002) (N -3) fatty acids do not affect electrocardiographic characteristics of healthy men and women. J Nutr 132, 30513054.Google Scholar
GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators (1999) Dietary supplementation with n -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'infarto miocardico. Lancet 354, 447455.Google Scholar
Kang, JX & Leaf, A (2000) Prevention of fatal cardiac arrhythmias by polyunsaturated fatty acids. Am J Clin Nutr 71, 202S207S.Google Scholar
Kardys, I, Kors, JA, van der Meer, I, Hofman, A, van der Kuip, DA & Witteman, JC (2003) Spatial QRS-T angle predicts cardiac death in a general population. Eur Heart J 24, 13571364.Google Scholar
Kors, JA, van-Herpen, G & van-Bemmel, JH (1999) QT dispersion as an attribute of T-loop morphology. Circulation 99, 14581463.Google Scholar
Marchioli, R, Barzi, F, Bomba, E, et al. (2002) Early protection against sudden death by n -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids after myocardial infarction–time-course analysis of the results of the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'infarto Miocardico (GISSI)-Prevenzione. Circulation 105, 18971903.Google Scholar
Ritsema van Eck, HJ (2004) Fiducial segment averaging to improve cardiac time interval estimates. J Electrocardiol 35, Suppl.8993.Google Scholar
Schouten, EG, Dekker, JM, Meppelink, P, Kok, FJ, Vandenbroucke, JP & Pool, J (1991) QT interval prolongation predicts cardiovascular mortality in an apparently healthy population. Circulation 84, 15161523.Google Scholar
Trusz-Gluza, M, Szydlo, K, Kukla, P, Wozniak-Skowerska, I, Filipecki, A, Peszek, E & Wojcik, E (2002) Postextrasystolic repolarization abnormalities in ST-U segment in patients with ventricular arrhythmias. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 7, 1721.Google Scholar
van-Bemmel, JH, Kors, JA & van-Herpen, G (1990) Methodology of the modular ECG analysis system MEANS. Methods Inf Med 29, 346353.Google Scholar
Zock, PL, Mensink, RP, Harryvan, J, de-Vries, JH & Katan, MB (1997) Fatty acids in serum cholesteryl esters as quantitative biomarkers of dietary intake in humans. Am J Epidemiol 145, 11141122.Google Scholar