Abstract
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may modulate autonomic control of the heart because omega-3 PUFA is abundant in the brain and other nervous tissue as well as in cardiac tissue. This might partly explain why omega-3 PUFA offer some protection against sudden cardiac death (SCD). The autonomic nervous system is involved in the pathogenesis of SCD. Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as a non-invasive marker of cardiac autonomic control and a low HRV is a predictor for SCD and arrhythmic events. Studies on HRV and omega-3 PUFA have been performed in several populations such as patients with ischemic heart disease, patients with diabetes mellitus, patients with chronic renal failure, and in healthy subjects as well as in children. The studies have demonstrated a positive association between cellular content of omega-3 PUFA and HRV and supplementation with omega-3 PUFA seems to increase HRV which could be a possible explanation for decreased risk of arrhythmic events and SCD sometimes observed after omega-3 PUFA supplementation. However, the results are not consistent and further research is needed.
Highlights
Cardiac autonomic control is important in the pathogenesis of sudden cardiac death (SCD)
In humans you can not isolate the other effects but you can chose to monitor only one of the effects. Both nervous tissue and heart tissue have a high content of omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and this may be consistent with the finding that this marine omega-3 fatty acid may modulate cardiac autonomic function as assessed by heart rate variability (HRV)
Most of the data in this review support that omega3 PUFA beneficially modulates cardiac autonomic control thereby possibly reducing the risk of arrhythmias
Summary
The Ohio State University, USA Ruben Coronel, Academic Medical Center, Netherlands Hester M. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may modulate autonomic control of the heart because omega-3 PUFA is abundant in the brain and other nervous tissue as well as in cardiac tissue. This might partly explain why omega-3 PUFA offer some protection against sudden cardiac death (SCD). Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as a non-invasive marker of cardiac autonomic control and a low HRV is a predictor for SCD and arrhythmic events.
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