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Article: In a heartbeat.(fish oil conumption risks factors in arrythmia)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Nutrition Action Healthletter
- Article date:
- September 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Center for Science in the Public Interest. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Fish oil supplements failed to reduce--and may have even boosted--the risk of irregular heartbeats in people who have implanted defibrillators. The devices monitor the heart rate and automatically administer a tiny electrical jolt when needed to stabilize the heart rhythm.
Researchers studied some 200 patients with implanted defibrillators who had recent episodes of arrythmia--either tachycardia (the heart beats abnormally fast) or fibrillation (the heart flutters, rather than beats, so it pumps little or no blood) in the ventricle, or lower heart chamber. Both types of arrythmia can lead to "sudden death" heart attacks, which kill half a million Americans every ...