Cardiac mortality is associated with low levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the heart of cadavers with a history of coronary heart disease

Chattipakorn, Nipon; Settakorn, Jongkolnee; Petsophonsakul, Petnoi; Suwannahoi, Padiphat; Mahakranukrauh, Pasuk; Srichairatanakool, Somdet; Chattipakorn, Siriporn C.

doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2009.09.011

« Previous Next »Nutrition Research
Volume 29, Issue 10 , Pages 696-704, October 2009

Cardiac mortality is associated with low levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the heart of cadavers with a history of coronary heart disease

Nipon Chattipakorn
- Department of Physiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
- Cardiac Electrophysiology Research and Training Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
- Corresponding author. Cardiac Electrophysiology Research and Training Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Tel.: +66 53 945329; fax: +66 53 945368.
Jongkolnee Settakorn
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Petnoi Petsophonsakul
- Department of Physiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
- Cardiac Electrophysiology Research and Training Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Padiphat Suwannahoi
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Pasuk Mahakranukrauh
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Somdet Srichairatanakool
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Siriporn C. Chattipakorn
- Cardiac Electrophysiology Research and Training Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
- Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand

Received 27 July 2009; received in revised form 9 September 2009; accepted 21 September 2009.

Abstract

The benefits of omega-3 (ie, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) and omega-6 (ie, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid [AA]) fatty acids on reducing cardiac mortality are still debated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in heart tissues are associated with low cardiac mortality in Thai cadavers. One hundred fresh cadavers were examined in this study. The cause of death, history of coronary heart disease (CHD), and fish consumption habits were obtained from death certificates, cadaver medical record profiles, and a questionnaire to a person who lived with the subject before death. In each cadaver, biopsies of cardiac tissues were taken from the interventricular septum for measurement of fatty acid. Of the 100 cadavers (average age, 69 ± 13 years), 60 were men. The frequency of fish consumption was directly associated with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in heart tissues (P < .01). History of CHD and cause of death (cardiac vs noncardiac) were not significantly associated with levels of omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. However, in cadavers with a history of CHD, high levels of omega-3 and omega-6, particularly DHA and AA, were associated with low cardiac mortality (P < .05). Fish consumption is associated with levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in heart tissues. Although omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are not associated with cardiac mortality in the overall studied population, their low levels (especially DHA and AA) in heart tissues are associated with high cardiac mortality in cadavers with a history of CHD.

Abbreviations: AA, arachidonic acid, CHD, coronary heart disease, DHA, docosahexaenoic acid, EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid, HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography, LA, linoleic acid, MMC-FA, methyl-7-methoxycoumarin fatty acid, PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids, VT, ventricular tachycardia