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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 ,
Peter L. Zock ,
Ingeborg A. Brouwer ,
Martijn B. Katan ,
Jan A. Kors ,
Henk J. Ritsema van Eck  and
Evert G. Schouten
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
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Abstract

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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.

Keywords

n-3 Fatty acidsElectrocardiogramHeart-rate-corrected QT intervalElectrophysiology
Type
Short communication
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 93 , Issue 6 , June 2005 , pp. 787 - 790
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

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