n-3 PUFAs Reduce Mortality and Hospital Admissions in Patients With Symptomatic Hea...( MUNICH - ESC Congress 2008 Septem...),Health

MUNICH - ESC Congress 2008, September 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Presented at the Annual ESC Congress 2008, Munich, Germany, 31 August 2008

For the first time, results from a new landmark trial of purified n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) were presented at one of the worlds' largest cardiology meetings by Professor Luigi Tavazzi (GISSI-HF): n-3 PUFAs reduced mortality and hospital admissions for cardiovascular reasons in patients with symptomatic heart failure(1).

GISSI-HF was a 3.9 year prospective, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 6,975 patients. At a dose of 1 g daily, n-3 PUFAs reduced all-cause mortality by 9% (p=0.041) and the combination of all-cause mortality and admissions to hospital for cardiovascular reasons by 8% (p=0.009), as compared with placebo against a background of optimal recommended therapy (ORT (ACE-inhibitors, beta-blockers, diuretics, digitalis, spironolactone)).

Improvement

Primary endpoint n-3 PUFAs vs placebo (ORT)

All-cause mortality 9% (p=0.041) *

All-cause mortality or admission to 8% (p=0.009) *

hospital for cardiovascular reasons

Secondary endpoint n-3 PUFAs vs placebo (ORT)

Cardiovascular mortality 10% (p=0.045) *

Cardiovascular mortality or admission to 6% (p=0.043) *

hospital for heart failure or for any

reason

Admission to hospital for cardiovascular 7% (p=0.026) *

reasons

Sudden cardiac death 7% (p=0.333)

Admission to hospital for any reason 6% (p=0.049)

Admission to hospital for congestive 6% (p=0.147)

heart failure

Myocardial infarction 18% (p=0.121)

Stroke -16% (0.27
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