Omega 3′s Cut Heart attack Risk for Patients with Stents

Tim | May 29, 2011

Omega3 and stents

Omega 3′s and stents

While this article gives us more good news on the Omega 3 front and good news for stent patients there is still the troubling effects of clopidogrel ( plavix ) on the body. Doctors still aren’t certain just how long patients who have had stents placed should remain on the drug. Some doctors believe 18 months -2 years is appropriate while others maintain 1 year is good. Still more doctors are telling patients to stay on plavix for life if they have had a stent placed.

While Plavix is a useful drug when combined with aspirin therapy it also has it’s drawbacks. Some patients can’t use Plavix and the side effects for other patients can lead to stroke and death. Plavix works to make your red blood cells less sticky so the blood doesn’t clot as well keeping clots from forming around newly placed stents. As a bare metal or drug eluting stent ( DES ) can take up to 2 years to heal over blood clots are a major concern.

Unfortunately because the way Plavix works there is a very real concern for bleeding internally, brain bleeds and accidents which could leave you bleeding out before you get proper medical attention.

I think this research is very important but until other drugs can be formulated to replace Plavix more safely you have to weigh the options for yourself and consult your doctor.

The full article is below.

Omega 3 Therapy Cutting Risk for Patients with Stents

A new research has suggested that omega-3 fatty acids combined with two blood-thinning drugs may prevent blood clotting and cut the risk of heart attacks.

Researchers tested some participants who were given the pill form of omega-3 (1,000 milligrams n-3 PUFA daily) and were encouraged to increase their consumption of oily fish.

They evaluated the effects of omega-3 in patients with stable coronary artery disease who had their clogged heart arteries opened by a catheter procedure and a stent inserted to help keep the vessels opened.

Researchers then randomly selected 24 patients as controls and 30 for treatment before their heart procedures. Both groups received the same daily doses of aspirin and clopidogrel ( Plavix ) for four weeks after stenting.

The treatment group received 1,000 milligrams of omega-3 daily and the controls received a placebo each day.

The result showed that the omega-3 treated patients produced less of a clotting factor called thrombin. In addition, they also formed clots with an altered and favorable structure, including larger pores that made them easier to disrupt.

Therefore, the clot-destruction time was 14.3 pc shorter. This might prove important in protecting patients, especially those with drug-eluting stents who occasionally develop potentially fatal late clots.

“Our study suggests that combined moderate anti-thrombotic and anti-platelet actions of omega-3, when added to those of other treatments, may improve outcomes for coronary artery disease patients,” said Grzegorz Gajos, lead author and assistant professor of cardiology at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

The study appears in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association.

If you have bare metal or drug eluting stents consult your doctor on the best course of action while the stents are healing over but be sure to remember that you are the ultimate decision maker when it comes to your stents.