Changes in Postprandial Serum Lipids and Blood Viscosity before and after n-3 Fatty Acid Consumption

Earlier work by the present authors demonstrated that about 25% of myocardial infarction (MI) patients had a normal fasting lipid profile. The postprandial triglyceride pattern in these patients was distinctively different from the group with no evidence of heart disease. In the present study, it was hoped to test the effectiveness of n-3 fatty acids in modifying postprandial blood lipids and viscosity. Before and after consuming a meal containing 80 g fat, patients having suffered an MI and those with no evidence of heart disease had venous blood samples taken at 1.5-hr intervals for 6 hr. In the “non-Mi” group, the triglyceride concentration reached a maximum mean of 2.17 mM at 3 hr. However, the triglyceride in the MI group increased to a mean concentration of 4.08 mM at 4.5 hr after the meal. No significant changes were apparent in total serum cholesterol levels. A negative correlation was observed between triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (CHDL), but the decrease in the CHDL was not of the same magnitude as the increase in triglyceride. Whole-blood viscosity was 4.65 cP preprandially, and there was a small, insignificant fall over the period of the test.