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Changes in body composition in heart failure patients after a resistance exercise program and branched chain amino
Juan Antonio Pineda-Juárez1, Néstor Alonso Sánchez-Ortiz1, Lilia Castillo-Martínez1
1Heart Failure Clinic, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición "SZ", Mexico City, Mexico.
Insights
Resistance exercise improved physical function in heart failure patients. Branched-chain amino acid supplementation did not enhance these benefits, suggesting exercise is key for managing cardiac cachexia symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Exercise Physiology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Heart Failure (HF) can lead to Cardiac Cachexia (CC), characterized by decreased fat-free and fat mass due to catabolic cytokines.
- Body composition changes in CC may potentially be reversed through combined interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a resistance exercise program combined with branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation on body composition in HF patients.
Main Methods:
- A 3-month randomized clinical trial involving HF patients.
- Two groups: one with resistance exercise and BCAA supplementation, the other with resistance exercise alone.
- Evaluations included anthropometric analysis and stress tests.
Main Results:
- Both groups showed improvements in muscle strength, METS, and VO2Max.
- Significant improvements in fatigue, decubitus intolerance, and dyspnea were observed across the sample.
- Hip circumference changes differed between groups (p=0.02).
Conclusions:
- Resistance exercise programs significantly improve physical and functional capacities in HF patients.
- BCAA supplementation did not provide additional benefits beyond resistance exercise in this study.
- Exercise appears to be the primary driver for improvements in cardiac cachexia.
Background & Aims:
Heart Failure (HF) is a complex syndrome, which can include the physiological, neural hormonal and metabolic complications known as "Cardiac Cachexia" (CC). In the development of CC there is a release of catabolic cytokines (Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, interleukins 1 and 6) that cause a decrease of fat free mass and fat mass. These changes in body composition might be reversed with a therapeutic combination of resistance exercise and branched chain amino acid supplementation (BCAA).
Aim:
Evaluate changes in body composition after a resistance exercise program and BCAA supplementation in patients with HF.
Methods:
In a randomized clinical trial with 3 month of follow-up anthropometric body composition analysis and stress tests were evaluated at the beginning and in the end of the study. Patients were divided into two groups; the experimental group performed the resistance exercise program and received 10 g/day BCAA supplementation, and the control group only performed the resistance exercise program. Both groups were provided with individualized diets and conventional medical treatment.
Results:
Changes were found in hip circumference between the groups (p = 0.02), and muscle strength was increased in the experimental group (8%) and the control group (11.4%) with no difference between them. METS and VO2Max also increased in experimental and control groups (16.6% and 50.1% respectively). Regarding changes in symptoms, improvements in fatigue (45.4%), decubitus intolerance (21.8%) and dyspnea (25.4%) were observed in the overall sample.
Conclusion:
Improvements in physical and functional capacities are attributed to resistance exercise program but not to the BCAA supplementation.
Clinical Trials Identifier:
NCT02240511.
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