Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Feb 15;81(3):420-8.
doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvn282. Epub 2008 Oct 14.

Metabolic remodelling of the failing heart: beneficial or detrimental?

Marc van Bilsen  1 , Frans A van Nieuwenhoven, Ger J van der Vusse
Affiliations
Review

Metabolic remodelling of the failing heart: beneficial or detrimental?

Marc van Bilsen et al. Cardiovasc Res. .

Abstract

The failing heart is characterized by alterations in energy metabolism, including mitochondrial dysfunction and a reduction in fatty acid (FA) oxidation rate, which is partially compensated by an increase in glucose utilization. Together, these changes lead to an impaired capacity to convert chemical energy into mechanical work. This has led to the concept that supporting cardiac energy conversion through metabolic interventions provides an important adjuvant therapy for heart failure. The potential success of such a therapy depends on whether the shift from FA towards glucose utilization should be considered beneficial or detrimental, a question still incompletely resolved. In this review, the current status of the literature is evaluated and possible causes of observed discrepancies are discussed. It is cautiously concluded that for the failing heart, from a therapeutic point of view, it is preferable to further stimulate glucose oxidation rather than to normalize substrate metabolism by stimulating FA utilization. Whether this also applies to the pre-stages of cardiac failure remains to be established.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types