How about the dose of fish oil for confident reduction of heart attack and sudden death? According to the now-classic GISSI-Prevenzione Trial of 11,000 participants, a dosage of 850 mg EPA and DHA per day provided substantial benefit: 28% reduction in heart attack, 45% reduction in sudden death. Benefits began as soon as three months after the starting of supplementation. (Interestingly, omega-3s exert no cholesterol-reducing benefit at all and, in fact, may increase LDL cholesterol modestly).

For reduction of heart rhythm disorders, the dosage of omega-3 is not well sorted out. However, omega-3 doses of 1000-4500 mg per day have been studied, with most studies suggesting significant reduction in the occurrence of abnormal heart rhythms. Benefits may take many weeks or months to develop and so the omega-3s from fish oil are most effective as a preventive strategy, not an acute treatment once rhythms occur.

Fish oil is truly powerful and so effective and well-grounded in clinical research that it straddles a role between nutritional supplement and prescription agent. Regardless of what you call it, the omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil are an important component of an overall program of heart health and one of the great bargains in overall health.