Mega EPA Omega-3 fatty acids 500mg.

Eating fatty acids found in fish oils may help reduce the risk of a heart attack by keeping arteries flexible, Australian researchers report.

Thousands of studies have shown the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil for the heart and circulatory system. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the blood vessel constriction, keep platelets from becoming sticky, lower the fibrinogen (the blood clotting factor) as well as helping to reduce low density lipoproteins (LDL's) and raise levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL's). Fish oil helps keep the arteries from being clogged after balloon angioplasty.

Both EPA and DHA fatty acids (components of Omega-3 fatty acids) lower triglyceride levels. In a landmark study by William Harris, PhD, it was shown that diets rich in salmon and salmon oil reduced triglyceride levels by 33%. Upon evaluating seventeen clinical trials involving fish oil and blood pressure, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School found that consuming 3 grams of fish oil a day can significantly reduce blood pressure.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to human health, but cannot be manufactured by the body, for this reason they must be obtained from food. Unless you are eating fatty acid fish at least 3-4 times per week you are likely not getting enough Omega-3 's in your diet. Since their discovery in the 1970's, Omega-3's have been shown to be essential to life and good health in every stage of life (even before birth). Found in every membrane of every cell in the body, Omega-3's help to ensure the cell membrane is equipped to do its job.
Omega-3 is not only critical for adults but is vital for healthy skin, healing of wounds, eyesight and brain development, healthy heart and growth and development of children. Infants whose mothers consume foods or supplements rich in omega-3 fatty acids have higher omega-3 levels than those whose mothers do not consume omega-3 rich foods or supplements.

"This is good evidence that eating fatty fish improves the health of the large arteries," lead author Dr. Paul Nestel, head of cardiovascular nutrition at the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, told Reuters Health.

It has been found that fish--especially fatty fish such as tuna, salmon and sardines--contain omega-3 fatty acids, which have protective effects on the cardiovascular system. However, the mechanism for this is still being explored.

The researchers investigated whether omega-3 fatty acids can help prevent hardening of the arteries, which constricts blood flow from the heart and can lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks.

In the study, which included 38 men and women with high cholesterol, patients received either a capsule containing one of two forms of purified omega-3 fatty acids--eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)--or a dummy placebo pill for 7 weeks. The researchers then measured the elasticity of the participants' arteries by ultrasound.

According to the findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who received the omega-3 fatty acids had a significant reduction in arterial hardness, while those taking the placebo pill had no change. Those taking EPA had a 36% increase in systemic arterial compliance, a measure of the large artery's elasticity, while those who took DHA had a 27% increase.

"We found a significant improvement in arterial elasticity after 7 weeks on either EPA or DHA," Nestel said. "Eating fish is possibly the best nutritional advice to reduce risk of fatal heart attacks."