Short-term Oral Administration of l-Arginine Improves Hemodynamics and Exercise Capacity in Patients with Precapillary Pulmonary Hypertension

摘要

We sought to assess the effects of oral supplementation of L-argin- ine, the precursor of nitric oxide (NO), on hemodynamics and ex- ercise capacity in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Acute he- modynamic responses to oral L-arginine (0.5 g/10 kg body weight) or placebo were examined in 19 patients with primary or precapil- lary secondary pulmonary hypertension. Cardiopulmonary exer- cise tests were performed to measure peak oxygen consumption (peak Vo_2) and the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide produc- tion (V_E-Vco_2 slope) before and 1 wk after treatment with L-argin- ine (1.5 g/10 kg body weight/d) or placebo.