![]() ![]() ![]() OmegaQuant, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an independent, certified laboratory that performs fatty acid analysis and index testing to researchers, clinicians and the public. Harris earned a doctorate in human nutrition from the University of Minnesota and completed fellowships in clinical nutrition and lipid metabolism at Oregon health sciences University. He belongs to scientific advisory boards for Marine ingredients and the Seafood Nutrition Partnership. Points to consider: Bill Harris, a researcher who invented the Omega-3 Index and founded OmegaQuant, was one of the authors of this study. It’s important for physicians and surgeons to understand the size of the risk, if any, and establish guidelines regarding fish oil supplementation before surgery. Why the research is interesting: The theory that consuming fish oil increases the risk of bleeding during or after surgery has not been supported by clinical evidence. The finding that fish oil supplements might lower the need for blood transfusions requires more evaluation in additional controlled trials. ![]() Study conclusions: This study provides robust evidence that surgeries on patients taking fish oil should not be delayed. Patients with higher levels of omega-3s in their blood seemed to have a lower risk of bleeding the 25 percent of patients with the highest levels of fatty acids on the morning of surgery had a 64 percent lower risk of postsurgical bleeding than patients with the lowest levels of fatty acids. In addition, patients who used fish oil needed fewer blood transfusions during and after heart surgery than patients who were given placebos. ![]() The findings: Patients who consumed fish oil before and after surgery did not have more bleeding than patients who took a placebo. (Some patients were having both.) Patients’ mean age was 63 years old, and 72 percent were men. Of those, 52 percent were having coronary artery bypass graft, while 50 percent were having surgery on a heart valve. During that time, 1,516 patients undergoing heart surgery at 28 different medical centers joined the study. The study: The OPERA trial was conducted in the United States, Italy and Argentina from August 2010 to June 2012. Summary: Contradicting the conventional advice that patients should stop consuming fish oil supplements before surgery, Fish oil and perioperative bleeding: Insights from the OPERA randomized trialfound that fish oil, compared to a placebo, does not increase bleeding in patients who have heart surgery. The few published studies regarding fish oil and bleeding risk have been small, prompting this research during the OPERA (Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Prevention of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation) trial. Doctors have advised patients to stop taking fish oil or to postpone elective surgeries because many have believed fish oil increases the risk of bleeding. About 19 million Americans, including about 8 percent of those who have or are at risk of coronary heart disease, consume fish oil supplements. ![]()
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