Patients who have undergone treatment for heart failure benefit from daily supplementation with L-arginine, an amino acid precursor to nitric oxide, according to a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Daily supplementation was shown to improve exercise capacity and recovery in a small group of patients compared to no treatment at all.
Nitric oxide causes dilation of blood vessels through a complex process. In heart failure patients there is often a disruption in the normal metabolism of nitric oxide, and proper blood vessel dilation does not occur. This causes two events; first decreased blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues that need it; and second increased blood pressure that pushes fluid into the tissue space that results in edema in the extremities and lungs.
Couple that with a heart which is over stretched and over worked and exercise can be quite difficult. But after only six weeks of daily supplementation, heart failure patients on L-arginine noted significant improvements. The average heart rate during exercise and during recovery was lower, blood pressure did not increase as dramatically, and breathing was not affected.
The study represents promising findings that L-arginine may be able to support proper recovery for heart failure patients. In previous studies exercise was proven beneficial for heart recovery, but often the patients have such a low capacity, benefit cannot be attained. Perhaps supplementation can help build capacity and restore strength to patients and their hearts.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on July 31, 2006 05:38 PM
