Meldonium Increases Functional Capacity of Patients with Chronic Right Ventricular Failure

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

Right ventricular (RV) failure is the main cause of death in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The cardioprotective drug, meldonium, induces cardioprotective effects by decreasing synthesis of long-chain acylcarnitines and their accumulation in heart tissues. A recent study showed that meldonium attenuated the development of RV failure in a preclinical PAH model (Vilskersts et al., 2021). This study was conducted to assess the effects of meldonium on the functional capacity and plasma biochemical profile of PAH patients with RV failure.. This study was carried out in RV failure patients who received etiological treatment for PAH for at least 3 months and the same period did not have documented exacerbations of the disease. Meldonium was administered twice a day at a dose of 500 mg for 30 days. Before and after the treatment at week 4, the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) was performed and blood samples were collected to characterize the plasma biochemical profile.. Twenty PAH patients with chronic RV failure were included in the study. Among all patients, 75.0 % were female. The mean age of the patients was 70.4 ± 13.2 years. The 6MWT before and just after meldonium treatment was 356.6±115.4 m and 402.8±129.9 m (p=0.022), respectively. Treatment with meldonium decreased Borg dyspnea scale after activity compared to examination before the treatment (p=0.003). The concentration of B-type natriuretic peptide in the plasma before and after meldonium treatment was 159.0±133.9 pg/ml and 165.3±135.9 pg/ml, respectively. There were no differences in the vital parameters in patients before and after meldonium treatment.. Meldonium treatment increases functional capacity and decreases dyspnea in patients with chronic RV failure. Our results suggest that meldonium might be a novel drug for the treatment of RV failure.Funding: Support for involving doctoral students in scientific research and studies. Project/agreement No.8.2.2.0/20/I/004
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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