An exploratory study on the efficacy and safety of a BCAA preparation used in combination with cardiac rehabilitation for patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Sarcopenia is generally complicated with patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and its presence negatively affects the course of heart failure, however effective nutritional intervention had not been elucidated yet. The primary objective of this study is to explore whether the addition of a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) preparation for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) of patients with CHF further improves cardiopulmonary functions, skeletal muscle functions, and metabolism in comparison with conventional CR.

Methods: This is a randomized, parallel-group comparative study. The elderly patients that were participated in CR and complicated with left ventricular systolic or diastolic dysfunction are randomized into two groups, CR + BCAA and CR. 20 weeks later, the second randomization is performed, which divide subjects into two groups with and without BCAA intervention without CR. Primary outcome measure is the rate of change of the anaerobic threshold workload from baseline to post-intervention. Secondary outcome include parameters of exercise capacity, cardiac function and psychological status.

Discussion: In the current study the effect of a promising new intervention, BCAA, will be assessed to determine whether its addition to CR improve exercise capacity in patients with heart failure, who are generally complicated with sarcopenia.

Trial Registration: This clinical trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network-Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; JPRN-UMIN R000022440 ).