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High Doses of Fish Oil Might Help Healing After Heart Attack

- Heart attack patients who took high doses of fish oil supplements for six months showed improved heart function and less scarring, researchers report.

It is not yet precisely known how the large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in these supplements might have helped the healing process, but the results are encouraging, said study senior author Dr. Raymond Kwong. He is director of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

In his study, 360 heart attack survivors were followed for six months. Half of them were given 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acid supplements daily for six months, while the other half were given placebo pills.