OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS IMPROVE LIPID METABOLISM AND INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE UNDERGOING EXERCISE TRAINING

We hypothesize whether omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) supplementation may improve the lipid metabolism and inflammatory biomarkers in heart failure (HF) patients undergoing exercise training. Sixteen male patients, who were participating in a physical cardiac rehabilitation program, ingested 4.8 g of fish oil daily (2.51 g of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids) for 60 days. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after 60 days of n-3 PUFA supplementation for analysis. The paired Student t-test was applied to detect differences (p < 0.05). The n-3 PUFA significantly reduced the levels of triglyceride (28.9%), small dense LDL- cholesterol (16.2%), non-HDL-cholesterol (9.0%), and TNF-α (17.8%) after 60 days (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the transfer of cholesteryl-ester to HDL increased by 23.1% (p < 0.05). In summary, the n-3 PUFA supplementation improved the lipid metabolism and low-grade systemic inflammation in HF patients submitted to exercise training, which may lower the risk of cardiovascular events.