A component of beet juice — inorganic nitrate — improves muscle power and exercise capacity in athletes and in patients with heart failure, according to earlier research by a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Now, the researchers — led by cardiologist Linda Peterson, MD, a professor of medicine and of radiology; statistician Ken Schechtman, PhD, a professor of biostatistics; and exercise physiologist Andrew Coggan, PhD, of Indiana University Indianapolis — have received a $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a clinical trial investigating whether inorganic nitrate can improve muscle function and exercise performance in patients with heart failure.
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction — when the percent of blood ejected from the heart’s main pumping chamber is reduced — affects about 3 million people in the U.S. Treatment can slow progression of the disease. But for many patients, the heart gradually loses pumping capacity, making it progressively more difficult for patients to go about their everyday activities. The trial will investigate whether, compared with a placebo, an inorganic nitrate gelcap taken once daily is a safe and effective way to increase exercise performance in patients with heart failure. Such an increase could improve quality of life for many people living with heart failure.
