Sarcopenia or cachexia is often complicated in heart failure. Nutritional support, particularly branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation, is a candidate treatment for improving sarcopenia or cachexia in elderly patients. However, the efficacy of BCAA supplementation in patients with heart failure has not been established, and the issue is comparatively more complex. Indeed, there are conflicting reports on the efficacy of BCAA supplementation. The evidence for including BCAA supplementation in treating patients with heart failure was reviewed, and the complexity of the issue was discussed.
Keywords: Branched-chain a-ketoacids; Branched-chain amino acid; Cachexia; Heart failure; Nutrition; Sarcopenia.
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