Cardiovascular Disease- How to Reverse Heart Disease

Omega-3 fish oil adverse reactions and interactions:

• A total of 10 studies were reviewed by Villani AM et al to determine potential serious adverse effects of fish oil at a dose of under 1.86 grams per day (21 It was found that there were no serious adverse effects reported in 994 adults over 59 years of age and other non-serious adverse effects were not significantly different from placebo (98).
• Fish oil has been reported to affect platelet aggregation, reduce vitamin K dependent factors which may be associated with an increased anticoagulation (reduce blood clotting) effect. Consumption should be avoided when taking anticoagulants like aspirin, warfarin, or ticlopidine because of the potential increased risk of bleeding (97).
• A case of a 67-year old woman taking warfarin (1.5 mg/day), an increase in her fish oil intake from 1 g/day to 2 g/day was associated with an increase in time for blood to clot as measured by the international normalized ratio (INR) which went from 2.8 to 4.3 within 1month, and decreased to 1.6 after the fish oil dose was reduced (94).
• An intake of 6 grams per day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found no significant difference found in blood coagulation, platelet function, or thrombotic parameters including prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin-III levels, and platelet aggregation (96).
• Fish oil may contain harmful contaminants such as heavy metals including mercury, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This risk can be reduced by purchasing fish oil that has undergone a purification process specified on the label (approved by the FDA, EPA, or US Pharmacopeia) (95).

High-dose calcium supplementation and cardiovascular disease:

High-dose calcium supplementation and cardiovascular mortality:

High-dose calcium supplementation was associated with greater cardiovascular (CV) mortality and all-cause mortality in women according to this prospective cohort study of 61,433 women born between 1914 and 1948. Compared with dietary calcium intakes of 600 to 1000 mg daily, daily intakes of over1400 mg were associated with significantly higher rates of death from all causes (40% increased risk), CV disease (49% increased risk), and ischemic heart disease (2 times higher risk), but not from stroke. Among the 6% of participant women using calcium supplements (500 mg), those who were also consuming >1,400 mg/d in their diet had a 2.5-times higher risk of all-cause death than women with similar total intakes not taking a supplement. (11)