European Society of Cardiology 2018: Day 2!

FISH OIL supplements

Once again, fish oil supplements have no benefit for patients in reducing cardiovascular disease. Ileana Piña, MD (Montefiore Weiler Hospital, New York, NY), agreed, noting: “I have a lot of patients who want to take the omega acids and they spend a lot of money in these health food stores, and I always say, particularly to my women, eat fish three times a week and you will get all the omega fatty acids that you need. Plus, it tastes good.” I could not agree more and give my patients similar advice.

An aspirin a day?

You really need to have a good reason to take an aspirin a day. Listen, if you have had a heart attack or a stroke, you need to take aspirin. The evidence in that regard is much clearer. If you have not had a heart attack or stroke and are simply at risk, you really need to discuss the benefit of taking aspirin to prevent one. More over, “when we looked at the balance of benefits versus risks we see that the absolute benefits from avoiding serious vascular events were largely counterbalanced by the increased risk of bleeding,” Armitage concluded (trial investigator).