Omega-3 fatty acids Can Help Some Heart Failure Patients
ω-3脂肪酸有助于某些心衰患者的治疗
For heart failure patients whose condition is controlled with standard care, omega-3 fatty acid supplements appear to improve their condition even more, a small study suggests.
一项小的研究显示:ω-3脂肪酸能够将心衰病人的病情控制在标准水平上，甚至可以改善他们的状况。
"Adding n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, even in patients that had a major improvement on standard treatment, showed a further improvement in heart function and exercise capacity," said study co-author Dr. Mihai Gheorghiade, a professor of cardiology at Northwestern University' s Feinberg School of Medicine.
合作研究者，美国西北大学范伯格医学院的心脏病学米晗伊·盖奥艾德教授教授说道即使患者通过‘标准治疗心功能已有了很大改进，在添加了 n-3多不饱和脂肪酸，这些患者们的心功能和运动能力仍会有进一步增强。"
"This shows that even in patients who respond to therapy, we can make them much better," he added. "This opens the door for the potential of a natural therapy -so called macronutrients- in the management of heart failure."
"这就表明，即使患者对治疗有反应，我们也可以让他们的情形变得更好。"他补充说这就打开了一扇潜在的自然疗法的大门——所谓的在心脏衰竭处理方面的宏量营养素。"
Gheorghiade cautioned that this study is not conclusive, but nutrients3 such as omega-3 fatty acids might extend life and quality of life for these patients.
盖奥艾德警告说，这项研究还没有最后的定论，但是像 ω-3脂肪酸这种营养物质很可能会延长这类病人的生命及改善其基本生活条件。
Gheorghiade's team randomly assigned 133 heart failure patients with minimal symptoms on standard therapy, which included beta blockers, to high doses (2 grams) of omega-3 fatty acid supplements or a placebo.
盖奥艾德的研究小组随机对133例在标准治疗下、症状轻微的心衰患者进行了分组，其中包括使用日受体阻滞药的患者，他们都服用了高剂量(2克)的ω-3脂肪酸补充剂或一种安慰剂。
After a year, those receiving the omega-3 supplement showed a 10.4 percent increase in heart function, compared with a 5 percent decrease among those taking placebo, the researchers found.
一年之后，研究人员发现，那些接受ω-3脂肪酸补充剂的患者心脏功能增强了10.4%，而与之相对照的，那些服用安慰剂的患者的心脏功能却减少了5%。
In addition, blood oxygen levels increased 6.2 percent in the omega-3 patients and decreased 4.5 percent in the placebo patients. Also, exercise time went up 7.5 percent in those receiving supplements while it went down 4.8 percent in those receiving placebo, they added.
另外，服用ω-3.旨肪酸的患者血氧含量水平增加了6.2%，而服用安慰剂这组患者却减少了4.5%。同样，他们还补充说，在运动时间长短上，那些接受补充剂的人群延长了7.5%，而那些接受安慰剂治疗人群却缩短了4.8%。
Moreover, among those taking the supplement the hospitalization rate was 6 percent during the year, compared with 30 percent for those on placebo.
而且，那些接受补克剂治疗的患者全年住院率仅为6%，相对的另一组的比例则为30%。
Gheorghiade speculated that the supplements improved the metabolism of the heart. "This is one example where a nontraditional therapy may also work," he said.
盖奥艾德推测这种补充剂能够改善心脏的新陈代谢。他说这只是非传统治疗方法可能发挥作用的一个例子。"
However, larger studies are needed to really see if this supplement helps prolong life, Gheorghiade said. "It's promising, but it's not conclusive," he said. "But it would be a mistake not to look at the value of the macro and micronutrients in the management of heart failure."
不过，这种补充剂是否能真正帮助患者延长生命，还需要更多的研究来证实，盖奥艾德讲道它非常有希望，但不是最终的结论。在治疗心衰时观察其宏量营养素和微量营养素的作用上可能还存在一些误区。"
Gheorghiade doesn't recommend that people take large amounts of this supplement in hopes of staving off heart disease. Whether or not one should take a supplement is a topic that patients and their doctors should discuss, he said.
盖奥艾德并不建议人们通过大量服用这种补充剂来期冀心脏病不会发生。他说："是否应该服用此类补充剂，这个问题是需要医生和患者之间进行商讨来决定的。"
Treatment needs to be tailored to individual patients, he pointed out. "This is not a cookbook," Gheorghiade added.
他指出，具体的治疗需要因人而异。"这不是一本食谱。"盖奥艾德补充说。
Dr. W.H. Wilson Tang, an assistant professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of an accompanying journal editorial, said that "studies on omega-3 fatty acid in heart failure still have not been effectively tested, based on limitations on their designs."
W·H威尔逊·唐博士是克利夫兰诊所的助理医学教授和联合编辑部作者，在这项研究上，他说"基于它们在设计上的限制，ω-3脂肪酸对于心脏衰竭的作用研究还没有得到有效的测试。"
Tang added, "We need to know what are potential dose and timing of intervention before we can effectively demonstrate whether an intervention works or not."
唐还说："在证明它能否发挥有效的干预作用前，我们必须要知道潜在的剂量是多少及其干预时间。"
The current study suggested that dose so far higher than commonly used may have some effect not seen in the larger studies, he said.
"当前的研究表明，在大量的研究中，使用远远高于常用的剂量可能有一些不可见的副作用发生。"
"That being said, whether every treatment approach needs mega trials to demonstrate effectiveness is now being increasingly challenged. The current debate is whether a relatively safe intervention such as fish oil should be recommended based on the current data -it is currently written in some guidelines but not too many doctors are actively recommending them," Tang said.
"话虽这么说，每一个治疗方法都要大型试验来证明其效力的方法正不断受到挑战。目前的争论是，建立在当前参考数据基础上，像鱼油这种干预作用相对安全的东西是否应被推荐——而现在，只是书面的一些指导说明，但不会有很多医生去积极推荐使用它们。"
Douglas "Duffy" MacKay, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents the supplement industry, said that "all adults should get 500 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, from either diet or supplements, just to maintain heart health."
道格拉斯"达菲"麦凯，科学和营养学行业理事会的监管事务所副主席，他在描述这种补充剂产业时说为了保持良好的心脏功能，所有的成年人应该从饮食或补充剂中获得ω-3脂肪酸500毫克。"
The American Heart Association also recommends that people get omega-3 fatty acids for heart health, with at least two servings a week of fatty fish , such as tuna, sardines or salmon, mackerel, herring or lake trout.
美国心脏协会同样建议人们为了心脏健康而服用ω-3脂肪酸，至少每周吃两次富含脂肪的鱼类，比如说金枪鱼、沙丁鱼、鲑鱼、鲭鱼、鲱鱼或鳟鱼。