title: Prevention of sudden cardiac death with omega-3 fatty acids in patients with coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To systematically review trials concerning the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on sudden cardiac death (SCD), cardiac death, and all-cause mortality in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane database (1966-2007) were searched. We identified randomized controlled trials that compared dietary or supplementary intake of omega-3 fatty acids with control diet or placebo in CHD patients. Eligible studies had at least 6 months of follow-up data, and cited SCD as an end-point. Two reviewers independently assessed methodological quality. Meta-analysis of relative risk was carried out using the random effect model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight trials were identified, comprising 20,997 patients. In patients with prior myocardial infarction (MI), omega-3 fatty acids reduced relative risk (RR) of SCD (RR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.20-0.91). In patients with angina, omega-3 fatty acids increased RR of SCD (RR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.01-1.92). Overall, RR for cardiac death and all-cause mortality were 0.71 (95% CI: 0.50-1.00) and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.58-1.01), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids reduces the incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with MI, but may have adverse effects in angina patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University People's Hospital, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ya-Xun
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Xue-Bin
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Ji-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000178:diet therapy; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000178:diet therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3