A recent study presented at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2024 revealed that increasing ketone supply to the heart in mice with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) allowed their hearts to utilize more ketones and produce more energy.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a common type of heart failure characterized by high left ventricle filling pressure despite normal or near-normal left ventricle ejection fraction. In contrast to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), there is no established treatment for HFpEF.
Healthy hearts require high adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production for continuous pumping, which comes from a balance of glucose and fats to support the heart’s function.
The study author, Qiuyu (Violet) Sun, explained that ketones are a unique energy source produced by the body during times of low blood glucose levels. Ketones can enhance the heart’s pumping ability by converting ATP from chemical energy.
Researchers found that increasing ketone supply to HFpEF mice led to higher ATP production without disrupting glucose or fat utilization. This increase in ketone use improved overall energy production in the heart.
The study highlights the rising prevalence of HFpEF globally and the lack of effective treatments. Understanding key proteins involved in cardiac energy metabolism may lead to the development of medications for HFpEF.
Future research will investigate the role of ketone use in HFpEF and explore whether optimizing heart energy production through increased ketone supply can enhance cardiac function.
The study also mentioned the importance of preventing heart failure in individuals showing early signs and proposed updated treatment strategies, including SGLT-2 inhibitors, for symptomatic heart failure in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Regarding the study background:
- Two groups of mice were used in the experiment, one induced with HFpEF through a high-fat diet, and the other as a control group fed a low-fat diet.
- The hearts of the mice were treated with varying levels of β-hydroxybutyrate to study their energy source utilization.
The study’s limitations include focusing on a specific metabolic phenotype of HFpEF and the need to explore different subgroups and better model cardiac energy metabolism in humans.
