El consumo de alimentos ricos en ácidos grasos omega-3 o la ingesta de complementos que contienen estos compuestos reducen la morbimortalidad cardiovascular. El beneficio clínico de estos compuestos es independiente de la reducción de colesterol pues, aunque disminuyen significativamente las concentraciones de triglicéridos de forma dependiente de la dosis, no modifican prácticamente los concentraciones de colesterol unido a lipoproteínas de baja densidad. Además, los resultados del estudio GISSI indican que la reducción de la mortalidad cardiovascular puede deberse principalmente a sus efectos antiarrítmicos. La necesidad de controlar las concentraciones de triglicéridos y de colesterol en pacientes con hiperlipidemia combinada plantea la cuestión de si la administración de estos compuestos junto con las estatinas, que mejora el perfil lipídico en estos pacientes, también puede incrementar la reducción de la mortalidad cardiovascular. En este artículo se revisan los mecanismos a través de los cuales ejercen su efecto clínico los ácidos grasos omega-3 y se analiza en qué medida su acción «farmacológica» complementa la actividad hipolipidemiante de las estatinas y puede ser aditiva sobre los efectos pleiotrópicos de estos fármacos. De hecho, los resultados parciales del estudio JELIS (Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study) señalan que el tratamiento combinado con ambos podría aumentar la protección cardiovascular y reducir la mortalidad.
Palabras clave
Ácidos grasos omega-3
Estatinas
Hipercolesterolemia
Efectos pleiotrópicos
Estudios clínicos
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