Heart - Eat Fish

[Guest guest]

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/eatingfish/e\

atingfish & floc=HR_1-L2

 

Eat fish and you're less likely to die from a sudden heart attack.

 

People who dine on fish regularly have lower heart rates and that helps

prevent sudden death from a heart attack, according to new research from

the Institute Pasteur de Lille in France reported by the Ivanhoe

Newswire. Sudden death or cardiac arrest happens when the heart stops

unexpectedly. The secret heart-healthy ingredient is omega-3 fatty

acids, which is found in abundance in cold-water fish, such as salmon,

mackerel, herring, and tuna.

 

The study: More than 9,700 men, who ranged in age between 50 and 59 and

had no signs of heart disease, participated in the French study. The

researchers followed them from 1991 to 1993, keeping records of their

heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol. The men also completed

questionnaires about their use of tobacco and alcohol, as well as

exercise and diet, including how often they ate fish. A subgroup of 407

men also got blood tests to assess fatty acid levels.

 

The results: The men who ate fish twice a week or more had the lowest

heart rates, averaging 65.5 beats per minute. This compares to 67.5

beats per minute for men who ate fish less than once a week. Why does

heart rate matter? Lead researcher Jean Dallongeville says even small

reductions in heart rate can make a big difference in the risk for

sudden heart death. " These findings are particularly important because

sudden death most often occurs in men without a known history of

coronary heart disease, " Dallongeville told Ivanhoe Newswire.

 

But there is a puzzler in all this: How the fatty acids reduce heart

problems isn't clear. Dallongeville theorizes that the fatty acids

stabilize the electrical activity of the heart's cells, which in turn

lowers the heart rate. They may also assist with pumping action and

blood pressure. The fish eaters had lower triglycerides, lower blood

pressure, and higher levels of the " good " cholesterol.

 

The study findings were published in Circulation: Journal of the

American Heart Association.