Let’s begin by taking a look at the prescription fish oil supplement medication. To review, this is a 100%-EPA fish oil that received FDA approval in December of 2019. The amount prescribed for people with high triglycerides is four grams of highly processed fish oil per day. Data from the REDUCE-IT trial suggested that there was a 25% decrease in mortality in the experimental group compared with the control group.

The current trial was called the EVAPORATE trial: Effect of Vascepa on Improving Coronary Atherosclerosis in People with High Triglycerides Taking Statin Therapy. The study began with 80 men and women, ages 30-85, with greater than 20% blockage in at least one of their coronary arteries, elevated triglycerides, and taking statin therapy; 68 subjects completed the 18-month study. The primary endpoint was to see if there was any reduction in plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.

The subjects in the prescription fish oil group saw a 17% decrease in overall arterial plaque; there was a plaque increase in the placebo group. The researchers did not track cardiovascular events or mortality in this study. We’ll take a look at the OTC fish oil supplement study on Saturday as well as determine the clinical significance of each trial.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. European Heart Journal (2020) 00, 1–8 doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa652
2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.08.034