Omega 3 supplements reduce blood clotting and cases of thrombosis

Omega 3 intake reduces thrombin formation. Thrombin is a protein that promotes blood clotting, making clots that clog blood vessels more permeable in those with coronary artery disease. The discovery, made by researchers at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, Poland, and published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, adds new details to theantithrombotic action of Omega-3s.

Thrombosis and Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids help keep the cardiovascular system in a healthy state. Their properties include the abilities to reduce excess triglycerides and increase levels of so-called "good" cholesterol. These actions help to decreaseatherosclerosis, which is the formation of cholesterol deposits on the artery wall. This phenomenon would cause a narrowing of the diameter of blood vessels that hinders blood flow increases the risk of thrombosis. Increasing levels of "good" cholesterol, therefore, reduces cardiovascular risk.

A new mechanism of action

The authors of this research evaluated whether Omega-3 may also be useful in modifying clot properties, as well as thrombin formation, in patients with coronary artery disease who need to undergoangioplasty. To answer this question, the researchers asked 30 of these patients to take 1 gram a day of Omega-3 for 1 month. 

Another 24 patients, however, took an equal amount of a placebo for the same period. At the beginning of the experiment, there were no particular differences in clot characteristics and thrombin formation between the 2 groups of individuals. In those who had taken Omega-3, after 1 month, fibrin clots were 15.3% more permeable than in the control group. Not only that, intake of the fatty acids had reduced the time needed for clots to dissolve by 14.3%. Similarly, the parameters of thrombin production were lower by between 13% and 34%. After 1 month of Omega-3 intake, the expression of an oxidative stress marker was also lower (specifically, by 13.1%) than observed in patients who had taken placebo.

The antithrombotic efficacy of omega-3s.

Our results indicate that Omega-3s reduce the risk of thrombosis because:

• They increase levels of good cholesterol;
• reduce the formation of a molecule that promotes clotting (thrombin);
• They change the properties of clots.

Taking these fatty acids along with standard therapies also counteracts oxidative stress in patients who have to undergo angioplasty.