Therapeutic effect of taurine in congestive heart failure: A double‐blind crossover trial

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Abstract
In a double‐blind, randomized, crossover, placebo‐controlled study, we investigated the effects of adding taurine to the conventional treatment in 14 patients with congestive heart failure for a 4‐week period. Compared with placebo, taurine significantly improved the New York Heart Association functional class (p>0.02), pulmonary crackles (p>0.02), and chest film abnormalities (p>0.01). A benefit of taurine over placebo was demonstrated when an overall treatment response for each patient was evaluated on the basis of clinical examination (p>0.05). No patient worsened during taurine administration, but four patients did during placebo. Preejection period (corrected for heart rate) decreased from 148 ± 14 ms before taurine treatment to 137 ± 12 ms after taurine (p>0.001), and the quotient pre‐ejection period/left ventricular ejection time decreased from 47 ± 9 to 42 ± 8 % (p > 0.001). Side effects did not occur in the patients during taurine. The results indicate that addition of taurine to conventional therapy is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with congestive heart failure.