Research
Mixed
Perioperative fish oil supplementation (EPA+DHA) does not increase the risk of major bleeding in cardiac surgery patients and may reduce blood transfusion requirements.
If you take fish oil for heart health, you likely do not need to stop it before heart surgery. This study of over 1,500 patients showed that continuing fish oil did not increase bleeding risk and actually reduced the amount of blood transfused. Consult your surgeon, but current evidence supports continuing supplementation.
StrongRefutesHIGH confidence
Compared with placebo, risk of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium bleeding was not higher in the fish oil group... The total units of blood transfused were significantly lower in the fish oil group compared with placebo (mean, 1.61 versus 1.92; P<0.001).
Why this rating
Large, multinational, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (n=1516) with standardized bleeding definitions.
Source
Fish Oil and Perioperative Bleeding
Emmanuel Akintoye et al. · Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes · 2018
rct · n=1516Cited 68×
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