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‘Fish plays no major role in preventing heart attacks’

The study, which got underway in 1990 and involved men and women aged over 55 living in a suburb of Rotterdam, found no difference in the risk of developing heart failure between those who ate fish and those who didn’t.

”Scientists and health authorities are increasingly persuaded that the intake of fish - even in small amounts - will protect against the risk of fatal myocardial infarction,” said study investigator Marianne Geleinjse from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

”However, there is no strong evidence that eating fish will protect against heart failure. One study has suggested that this might be so, but we could not confirm it in our cohort study of older Dutch people.”

Heart failure is by far today’s single biggest reason for acute hospital admission.

Around 30 million people in Europe have heart failure and its incidence is still increasing: more cases are being identified, more people are living to an old age, and more are surviving a heart attack but with damage to the heart muscle.

According to one study, the reported prevalence among those aged 65-74 years is one in 35, and among the over-85s one in seven.

The analysis comprised 5,299 subjects (41 percent men, mean age 67.5 years) who were free from heart failure and for whom dietary data were available.

During over 11 years of follow-up, 669 subjects developed heart failure. Their habitual diet had been assessed at baseline (in a self-reported checklist and by expert interview), with subjects specifically asked to indicate the frequency, amount, and kind of fish they had eaten, either as a hot meal, on a sandwich, or between meals.

Results showed that the dietary intake of fish was not significantly related to heart failure incidence, says a Wageningen University release.