BANGALORE: Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements daily can improve cardiovascular health in older adults, scientists have found. The risk of cardiovascular disease increases with age because the arteries become stiffer. Arterial stiffness affects how blood travels through them and ultimately how strongly the heart needs to pump it.

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The most commonly used measures of arterial stiffness are pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index. When the heart ejects blood into the blood vessels, pressure increases, creating a bulge in the vessel. PWV is the speed at which the bulge ripples through the arteries.

When the pressure pulse hits a fork in the arteries, part of the pressure pulse bounces back towards the heart and combines with the new pulse coming out of the heart. How much

The reflected pulse enhances the new one is called augmentation index. High PWV and high augmentation index values reflect stiffer arteries.

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Researchers at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine examined whether omega-3 supplements could reverse the effects of ageing on the blood vessels in healthy older adults and reduce PWV and augmentation index.

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