Fish oil capsules can reduce the risk of death among people with heart failure, an Italian study has found.
The research also reported that individuals with heart failure, which is when the body progressively loses the power to pump blood, were less likely to be admitted to hospital.
The four-year study involved nearly 7,000 people with heart failure attending 357 cardiology units across Italy.
The researchers used a double-blind program, in which neither doctors nor patients knew who received dummy capsules and who received those containing a gram of omega-3 fish oil.
The research found that those on fish oil were nine percent less likely to die during that period.
The difference increased to 14% when researchers examined the 5,000 patients who took the capsules once a day as directed.
The number of those admitted to hospital for arrhythmia fell by 28% during the same period.
Details of the study, which was carried out by a team called GISSI, bringing together the National Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) and the Mario Negri Institute, were published in the prestigious medical weekly The Lancet and presented at the recent European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich.
Discussing the results, Luigi Tavazzi of ANMCO said: ''Our study shows that the long-term administration of one gram per day of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid was effective in reducing both all-cause mortality and admissions to hospital for cardiovascular reasons.
''This is the first study of omega 3 in patients with heart failure, an area which is not rich in new drugs. This is a modest effect but it is on top of recommended therapies. It's safe, simple and cheap''.
A variety of health benefits have been claimed for omega 3, which occurs naturally in cod liver oil and fish such as salmon and mackerel.
Arthritis, depression, anxiety, high cholesterol, memory loss and high blood pressure are among the many conditions that studies have suggested may be partly prevented or treated by omega 3.
Omega 3 is thought to have reduced the risks for patients with heart failure in the Italian study by improving the elasticity of blood vessels, reducing inflammation and promoting a steady rhythm.
Some 600,000 people in Italy alone suffer from heart failure.
