How a ketone body boosts heart power without raising blood pressure
Ketone body 3-hydroxybutyrate elevates cardiac output through peripheral vasorelaxation and enhanced cardiac contractility
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Blood pressure stayed stable despite 28% higher cardiac output
Common belief is that increased blood flow raises BP, but here vascular resistance dropped enough to offset it
Practical Takeaways
Consider ketone supplements for heart health, but wait for human trials
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Blood pressure stayed stable despite 28% higher cardiac output
Common belief is that increased blood flow raises BP, but here vascular resistance dropped enough to offset it
Practical Takeaways
Consider ketone supplements for heart health, but wait for human trials
Publication
Journal
Basic Research in Cardiology
Year
2023
Authors
C. Homilius, J. Seefeldt, J. Axelsen, T. M. Pedersen, T. M. Sørensen, R. Nielsen, H. Wiggers, Jakob Hansen, V. Matchkov, H. Bøtker, E. Boedtkjer
Related Content
Claims (10)
Blood pressure is determined by cardiac output, blood volume, and vascular resistance; an increase in any of these factors elevates blood pressure.
In rats, a specific dose of a ketone body made the heart pump more blood per beat and overall without changing how fast the heart beats.
When added to isolated rat hearts, a ketone body made the heart muscle contract more strongly and increased blood flow to the heart muscle itself.
In rat heart arteries, a ketone body relaxed the blood vessels starting at low concentrations, with the strongest effect at higher doses.
In rat blood vessels, a ketone body relaxed heart, brain, leg, and gut arteries more easily than kidney arteries, with heart arteries responding at lower doses.