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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

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Published on: April 8, 2013
L-carnitine treatment in patients with mild diastolic heart failure is associated with improvement in diastolic
Ali Reza Serati1, Mohammad Reza Motamedi, Sepideh Emami
1Cardiovascular Research Center, Modarres Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Objectives:
L-Carnitine is a crucial component of activated fatty acid transport. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of L-carnitine on patients with a history of mild heart failure and diastolic dysfunction.
Methods:
Twenty-nine patients with a history of NYHA functional class II symptoms and ejection fraction >45% with documented grade 1 diastolic dysfunction on echocardiogram were randomized in blinded fashion to receive 1,500 mg of L-carnitine daily for 3 months in comparison to a no treatment group (31 patients). Baseline echocardiographic and follow-up measurements of diastolic parameters were assessed after 3 months.
Results:
Important parameters of diastolic function improved in the L-carnitine group only: left atrial size (3.6 +/- 0.4 cm before treatment vs. 3.4 +/- 0.5 cm after treatment, p = 0.01); isovolemic relaxation time (127 +/- 26 ms before vs. 113 +/- 24 ms after treatment, p = 0.007); septal mitral E' velocity (0.064 +/- 0.01 m/s before vs. 0.074 +/- 0.01 m/s after treatment, p = 0.01), and lateral mitral E velocity (0.082 +/- 0.01 m/s before vs. 0.091 +/- 0.02 m/s after treatment, p = 0.006). Dyspnea also significantly improved in L-carnitine-treated patients.
Conclusion:
In patients with a history of diastolic heart failure, important indices of diastolic function and symptoms appear to improve with L-carnitine treatment.
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