Supplements Vitamin D and Fish Oil, Not Effective as Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation

A research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2020 suggests that ingesting Vitamin D3 and Omega-3 fatty acids neither increase nor decrease the risk of developing atrial fibrillation. According to the release, evidence from previous observational studies has been conflicting, signifying both risks and potential health benefits of fish oil and Vitamin D for atrial fibrillation.

(Photo: Bruno /Germany )

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In the release by the American Heart Association, founding chair of the department of cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Christine Albert, M.D., M.P.H., said that atrial fibrillation, once established, is difficult to treat and results in symptoms can spoil the patient's quality of life. She added that current treatment options have limited long-term success and significant risks, and there is a pressing need for preventive strategies.

In the record of American Heart Association, at least 2.7 million Americans are prevailing with atrial fibrillation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than 454 thousand hospitalizations with atrial fibrillation as the primary diagnosis happen each year in the United States. They added that this condition contributes to about 158,000 deaths each year.

What is Atrial Fibrillation?

Conferring to the American Heart Association, atrial fibrillation or AFib is trembling or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related concerns. National Health Service further said that an exact unidentified cause of atrial fibrillation, although it is more mutual with age and disturbs certain clusters of people. They further said that this condition is common in hypertension, congenital heart disease, atherosclerosis, and cardiomyopathy.

American Heart Association added that the heart beat's upper chambers beat irregularly instead of beating effectively to move blood into the ventricles during AFib. National Health Service further said that particularly in older people, the condition has no symptoms. The abnormality of the heart's beating is only discovered through routine tests or investigations for another condition.

Methods and result of the study

According to the release, the VITAL Rhythm Trial is the first placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial investigative preventive therapies for atrial fibrillation. The release further said that the trial appraised whether the supplementation with vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids can decline the risk of progressing atrial fibrillation likened to placebo. The release mentioned a five-year study from 2012-2017, with 25,119 adults aging from 50 years old and older with no history of atrial fibrillation as respondents.

The release further said that during the follow up of the trial, 900 participants developed atrial fibrillation, 3.6% of the study population. The researchers emphasized in the release that there were no differences between the groups who were assigned to vitamin D and omega-3 supplements compared to individuals who were assigned to the placebo. According to Dr. Albert, the study results do not support using marine Omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D in preventing atrial fibrillation in association with clinical care. However, she added that the results offer reassurance that these supplements do not increase the overall risk of atrial fibrillation and appear to be generally safe for patients who ingest these supplements for other reasons.

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