Prescribing fish oil to heart attack patients

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British doctors are being advised to prescribe oily fish or omega-3 fatty acid supplements to heart attack patients, BBC News reports.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) believes that supplying fish oil supplements is an effective way to cut the risk of further heart attacks.

It is the first time NICE has recommended lifestyle change - alongside drugs - in guidelines on preventing repeat attacks. Patient representatives said the measures could have a big impact.

"The growing evidence that cardiac rehabilitation and specific lifestyle changes reduces the risk of second heart attacks, as well as improving quality of life, is not widely recognised," professor Gene Feder, chair of the Guideline Development Group, told BBC News. 

The new guidelines recommend that patients who have a had a heart attack in the last three months eat more oily fish or are prescribed certain preparations of omega 3 fatty acids.