Oral N-acetylcysteine as an adjunct to standard medical therapy improved heart function in cases with stable class II and III systolic heart failure.

backgroundThis research attempted to assess whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as adjunctive therapy can be useful in the treatment of patients with heart failure (HF).

methodsFifty-five cases with diagnosed systolic HF and stable symptomatic New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II and III and on optimal medical treatment of HF for at least 3 months were assigned for receiving oral NAC (600 mg twice daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. The outcomes were changes in the echocardiographic hemodynamic indices as well as the patients' functional capacity assessed by NYHA classification over a 12-week treatment.

resultsCompared to placebo, NAC more significantly improved the systolic left ventricular (LV) function expressed as the ejection fraction and Tei index. These changes are accompanied by more improvement in other LV echocardiographic indices including LV end-diastolic volume index and LV global longitudinal strain in the patients receiving NAC in comparison with those receiving placebo. In parallel with the improvement of LV function, right ventricular (RV) function expressed as RV fractional area change and RV Tei-index also got more improvement in those receiving NAC than those receiving placebo. However, the change in RV global longitudinal strain did not show a significant difference between study groups. Additionally, at week 12, the distribution of the NYHA functional class also shifted toward a better outcome in the NAC group in comparison with the placebo group; however, it was not significant.

conclusionsThese preliminary data support experimental findings showing that NAC supplementation is able to improve heart function.

trial registrationThe registration of the trial was done at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials ( www.irct.ir ). Identifier code: IRCT20120215009014N333. Registration date: 2020-01-11.