Eating fatty acids found in fish oils may help reduce the risk of a heart attack by keeping arteries flexible, Australian researchers report. "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." The study was partially funded by the drug company F Hoffmann-La Roche. SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002;76:326-330