Date:
February 22, 2018
Source:
Indiana University
Summary:
Beetroot juice supplements may help enhance exercise
capacity in patients with heart failure, according to a new proof-of-concept
study. Exercise capacity is a key factor linked to these patients’ quality of
life and even survival.
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Beetroot juice supplements may help enhance exercise
capacity in patients with heart failure, according to a new proof-of-concept
study. Exercise capacity is a key factor linked to these patients’ quality of
life and even survival.
The study examined the impact of dietary nitrate in
the form of beetroot juice supplements on the exercise capacity of eight heart
failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, a condition in which the heart
muscle doesn’t contract effectively and can’t get enough oxygen-rich blood to
the body.
Tens of millions of people suffer from heart
failure. In about half of all such people, the ejection fraction of the heart
is reduced.
Because of their condition, these patients exhibit
labored breathing, have diminished peak oxygen uptake and use more energy while
exercising than would otherwise be the case.
Researchers found that the beetroot supplement
resulted in significant increases in exercise duration, peak power and peak
oxygen uptake while exercising.
Those improvements were not accompanied by any
changes in the breathing responses of the patients, and there was no change in
their exercise efficiency, a measure of how much external work a person gets
for a certain input of energy.
The study, titled “Dietary Nitrate Increases
V02 peak and Performance but Does Not Alter Ventilation or Efficiency in
Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction,” was published
in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
“Abnormalities in aerobic exercise responses
play a major role in the disability, loss of independence and reduced quality
of life that accompany heart failure,” said Andrew Coggan, an associate
professor in the Department of Kinesiology in the School of Physical Education
and Tourism Management at IUPUI and one of the researchers who conducted the
study. “Perhaps more importantly, elevations in ventilatory demand and
decreases in peak oxygen uptake are highly predictive of mortality in patients
with heart failure.”
A second important aspect of the study is there were
no untoward side effects from the dietary nitrate, Coggan said: “In this
case, lack of any significant changes is good news.”
The data suggests that dietary supplementation may
be a valuable addition to treatment for exercise intolerance among heart
failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, Coggan said. Multi-center
trials are needed to confirm the proof-of-concept findings and to determine
whether longer-term dietary nitrate treatment improves physical activity
levels, quality of life and perhaps even survival in patients with heart
failure with reduced ejection fraction.
Story Source:
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Journal Reference:
- Andrew R. Coggan, Seth R. Broadstreet, Kiran Mahmood,
Deana Mikhalkova, Michael Madigan, Indra Bole, Soo Park, Joshua L.
Leibowitz, Ana Kadkhodayan, Deepak P. Thomas, Dakkota Thies, Linda R.
Peterson. Dietary Nitrate Increases VO 2 peak and Performance but Does
Not Alter Ventilation or Efficiency in Patients With Heart Failure With
Reduced Ejection Fraction. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 2018; 24
(2): 65 DOI: 10.
