Why people use it
- Secondary (and high-risk) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) event reduction
- Primary prevention of first major CVD events (and cancer, as VITAL co-tested)
- Fasting triglyceride lowering (and severe hypertriglyceridemia / pancreatitis-risk lipids)
- Lower atrial fibrillation (AF) risk — historically claimed; current evidence is the opposite at high dose
- No important bleeding risk / “safe with anticoagulants”
- Treatment or prevention of major depression
- Better cognition / slower Alzheimer’s or age-related decline
- Less rheumatoid-arthritis / inflammatory joint pain and less NSAID use
- Faster athletic recovery / less delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
- Treat-to-target RBC omega-3 index ~8–12% (sometimes claimed ~12%) is superior to a fixed gram dose for the outcomes above