Cardiovascular diseases

Healthy myocardium naturally contains a certain amount of carnosine. Yet carnosine supplementation significantly increases (up to 30%) strength and endurance of the heart muscle. The loss of myocardial cell contractility, in general, is a cause of mortality in ischemic heart disease. Based on current pharmacological studies, carnosine is as efficient in improving heart muscle contractility during ischemia as verapamil (calcium blocator, often prescribed as an antihypertensive drug). Thereby carnosine opens completely new horizons in the cure of heart insufficiency.

The beneficial effects of carnosine based on the studies can be summarized:

• Increasing the heart muscle contractility
• Reducing high blood pressure
• Protection against oxygen deficiency (hypoxia, ischemia) in tissues in ischemic heart disease
• Prevention of LDL oxidation and thus atherosclerosis development prevention

Carnosine can be widely used in the treatment of all kinds of reduced heart pumping efficiency. Moreover, carnosine reduces the level of leptin, the obesity hormone. This hormone is several times higher in the blood of obese people which also increases blood pressure.

Scientists carried out interesting trials to show the effect of carnosine on rats with programmed hypoxia. The rats were then revived by supplying oxygen. Rats treated with carnosine were able to rise after 4.3 minutes, and those untreated after 6.3 minutes, a statistically significant difference. Another study was made on animals with an artificially induced stroke. Carnosine proved significant neuroprotective effects in brains suffering from ischemy. Rats supplemented with carnosine demonstrated  more normal ECG, less lactic acid (a common indicator of damage severity) and showed better parameters of cerebral blood flow.