A new international study has found that taking a daily fish oil supplement can greatly lower the risk of serious heart problems in people who are on dialysis for kidney failure.
The research was led in Australia by Monash Health and the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University.
The study, called the PISCES trial, involved 1,228 patients at 26 dialysis centers in Australia and Canada. The results were announced at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2025 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Participants in the study took either a daily fish oil supplement or a placebo. The fish oil group received four grams each day, containing the natural ingredients EPA and DHA, which are known for supporting heart health.
The results were impressive: those who took fish oil had a 43% lower rate of major heart-related problems compared to the placebo group. These problems included heart attacks, strokes, death due to heart issues, and amputations related to blood vessel disease.
Adjunct Professor Kevan Polkinghorne, a kidney doctor at Monash Health and one of the lead researchers in Australia, said that patients on dialysis are at a very high risk for heart problems, and very few treatments have been proven to help.
That’s why this discovery is so important. He explained that people on dialysis often have much lower levels of EPA and DHA in their bodies compared to people who are not on dialysis. This difference may explain why fish oil had such a strong benefit in this group.
However, Professor Polkinghorne made it clear that these results are specific to people who are receiving hemodialysis for kidney failure. The same benefits should not be expected in healthy people or in those with different health conditions.
The trial was managed in Australia by the Australasian Kidney Trials Network. About 200 Australians participated in the study, including 44 who were treated at Monash Health.
The global study was also led by Professor Charmaine Lok and her team from the University Health Network in Toronto and the University of Calgary in Canada.
This study is especially important because people with kidney failure who rely on dialysis are among the most vulnerable to heart disease. Many previous trials looking for ways to lower this risk have failed. But this new research shows that something as simple and widely available as fish oil could help protect the hearts of these patients.
In summary, taking a high dose of fish oil daily may be a powerful way to reduce serious heart complications in people on dialysis. It gives doctors and patients a new, affordable tool to improve health and quality of life in a group that faces many medical challenges.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
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