Omega-3-acid ethyl esters such as fish oil have several potential medical uses. Your physician may suggest that you take it if you have pain caused by inflammation. She also may suggest it if you have high cholesterol or high triglycerides. Fish oil supplements can help your blood circulate better and lower your blood pressure. It also can produce some side effects and unforeseen problems that your doctor will need to know about. Do not start taking fish oil without your practitioner’s approval.
Fish Oil Benefits
Fish oil contains both DHA and EPA, known respectively as docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. These omega-3s work in your body to counteract the high levels of fats called triglycerides. Triglycerides get stuck in your blood vessels and decrease the openings through which blood passes. Over time, these deposits get hard and form plaque. This narrowing of your blood vessels, especially your arteries, causes your heart to work harder and raises your blood pressure. Fish oil supplements lower your triglycerides level and can help to remove the plaque in your blood vessels. This can take the strain off your heart. While in most people this is a good thing, the change in heart rate can also cause an arrhythmia to occur.
High Triglycerides
As you ingest food, your body takes in and manufacturers low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides and LDL have become known as bad cholesterol because high levels of them cause health problems. Your doctor may prescribe a medicine to lower your LDL and triglycerides and raise your good cholesterol or HDL. At the same time, he may recommend fish oil supplements if your triglyceride levels need lowering, but a medication alone may not accomplish the task. Fish oil can help to reduce the triglycerides and, in turn, your blood pressure. Some doctors even recommend fish oil to help prevent heart disease.
Blood Circulation
As fish oil works to open your blood vessels, your blood begins to circulate more easily. If your heart was pumping harder to force your blood through your narrowed blood vessels, it now can relax while still getting the blood through. A heart arrhythmia can develop when fish oil begins to produce its effects. If you take a blood thinner, fish oil can increase the effect of the drug, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes. This also can lead to heart arrhythmias and other cardiovascular problems.
Potential Problems
Arrhythmia is a general medical term that covers fluctuations in your heartbeat. It can mean an irregular heart rate, an accelerated heart rate known as tachycardia or a slowed heart rate called bradycardia. If your heart has been beating in a certain rhythm to push blood through plaque-filled arteries, the decrease in plaque and thus the way your heart has to beat can at least temporarily cause one of these arrhythmias to occur. Report any change in your heartbeat to your doctor immediately. Apart from an arrhythmia causing discomfort, it also can constitute a serious health problem.
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