Efficacy of treatment of patients with coronary heart disease using a fixed combination of L-arginine and L-carnitine in terms of evidence-based medicine. Review of international scientific sources

Endocrinologist, Cardiologist, Neurologist, General practitioner

Abstract. Objective: to analyse the sources of scientific literature on the use of amino acids L-arginine and L-carnitine in coronary heart disease. Object and methods of research. Literary sources were searched in the main electronic databases of evidence-based medicine: BMJ Clinical Evidence, Medscape from WebMD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Cochrane Collaboration The Cochrane Library, The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Health-ua.com with a search strategy: «L-carnitine», «carnitine», «L-arginine», «Тivor-L®», «coronary heart disease». Electronic search is supplemented by manual search.

Results. The obtained scientific sources are divided into three groups: studies on the effectiveness of only L-arginine, only Lcarnitine and both. Numerous foreign and domestic studies indicate a long-term positive effect of the separate use of L-arginine and Lcarnitine in the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease. The next stage of the study was the search for scientific publications on the use of the drug, which includes both amino acids (Тivor-L®, «YuriaPharm», Ukraine) in the databases of evidence-based medicine. Data from four randomized trials of L-arginine and L-carnitine conducted over the past 10 years in Ukraine are presented.

Conclusions. The results of the analysis of the literature allow us to prescribe drugs that contain the amino acids L-arginine and L-carnitine as cardio- and endothelial protective drugs, and recommend the use their combinations for the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease. Further studies of the effects of these amino acids and the development of clinical recommendations for their rational use in cardiology are promising.

Key words: coronary heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, L-arginine, L-carnitine, Тivor-L®.

Information about the author:
Shumakov Volodymyr О. — Professor, Honored Doctor of Ukraine, Scientific Supervisor of the Department of Myocardial Infarction and Rehabilitation Treatment of the State Institution National Scientific Center «Institute of Cardiology named after acad. M.D. Strazheska» NAMS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.

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