MUNICH, Germany — Fish oil supplements might help patients with chronic heart failure better than a popular cholesterol-reducing drug, according to research released Sunday.
The study findings were published online in The Lancet.
Italian researchers gave nearly 3,500 patients a daily omega-3 pill, a prescription-formulation pill derived from fish oils. Doctors said people should get the same benefits from fish-oil supplements or eating more oily fish like salmon.
Roughly the same number of patients were given placebo pills. Patients were followed for an average of four years.
They found that 1,981 patients taking fish-oil pills died of heart failure or were hospitalized, while 2,053 of the patients taking placebo pills were.
The same team gave 2,285 patients the drug rosuvastatin, known as Crestor, and gave placebo pills to 2,289 people. The doctors found little difference in rates between the groups.
The researchers concluded that fish oil is slightly more effective than the drug.
