Supporting ongoing evidence, the researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found, in sharp contrast, that fried fish could actually raise the risk.
Heart disease is a leading cause of death in today's society with nearly one in three global deaths, about 16.7 million, linked to a form of cardiovascular disease.
Tracking the diet of 4,775 adults for 12 years, Dariush Mozaffarian and colleagues examined the association between different types of fish meals and the risk of stroke in adults aged 65 years and older.
"Eating broiled or baked fish one to four times per week, or five or more times per week was associated with a respective 28 percent and 32 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke," report the researchers in the January 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
By comparison, fried fish and fish sandwich consumption was associated with a 37 per cent higher risk of all types of stroke and a 44 per cent higher risk of ischemic stroke.
And weighing more evidence in favour of boiled or baked fish consumption, the researchers point out that each serving of fried fish or fish sandwich per week increased the risk of a stroke by ten per cent, with 13 per cent higher risk for ischemic stroke.
Their findings hint that despite the impact of dietary habits earlier in life, diet may influence stroke risk beyond the earlier development of cardiovascular disease in young adulthood and middle age.
"Our findings also suggest that…preparation methods may be important when considering relationships of fish intake with stroke risk," write the Harvard researchers.
The food industry continues to roll out a growing number of food products designed to tackle the heart health market. Set to grow 7.6 per cent in the UK market alone, according to Datamonitor, these foods are slated to achieve sales of £145 million in the UK by 2007.