The Study
Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Coronary Plaque Morphology - A Serial Computed Tomography Angiography Study.
This study looked at whether taking more omega-3 fish oil changed the buildup in heart arteries over time. It found that people who took more omega-3 had less buildup, but they weren’t randomly assigned to take it — their doctors chose who got more. So we can’t say for sure the omega-3 caused the change.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Doctors gave heart attack patients statins and some also gave them high-dose fish oil (EPA). They scanned their heart arteries twice to see if plaque grew.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 550 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — less plaque growth means lower risk of future heart attacks, even when patients are already on strong cholesterol drugs.
- 2Patients taking high-dose EPA (1,800 mg/day or more) had 72% less plaque growth than those not taking EPA.
- 3Their dangerous soft plaque also shrank.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Circulation journal : official journal of the Japanese Circulation Society
Year
2021
Authors
S. Motoyama, Y. Nagahara, M. Sarai, H. Kawai, K. Miyajima, Yoshihiro Sato, Ryota Matsumoto, Hiroshi Takahashi, H. Naruse, J. Ishii, Y. Ozaki, H. Izawa
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking omega-3 supplements may help slow down the buildup of fatty plaques in your arteries by lowering bad fats in your blood, preventing clots, and calming down inflammation in your blood vessels.
For people with heart disease who are already taking statins, taking a high dose of a specific fish oil component called EPA (at least 1,800 mg a day) may slow down the buildup of plaque in their heart arteries by about 72% over a year or two, compared to not taking any fish oil at all.
People with heart problems who take a high dose of EPA, a type of fish oil, tend to have less of a dangerous type of plaque in their arteries over a year or two, while those who don’t take it tend to have more of this plaque.
If a heart scan shows dangerous plaque buildup, it’s likely that the plaque will keep growing over time in people who’ve had a heart attack or similar heart event—even if they’re managing other risk factors like cholesterol or blood pressure.
For people with heart disease who are already taking statins, taking a high dose of EPA (a type of fish oil) seems to lower 'bad' cholesterol more than lower doses of other omega-3s—but even with that extra cholesterol drop, something else about EPA is still helping reduce artery plaque.
People with a recent heart attack who are already on statin medicine may have less buildup of plaque in their heart arteries if they take rosuvastatin instead of pitavastatin, even if they're also taking fish oil (EPA).
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.