Does plasma free fatty acid concentration affect myocardial substrate and oxygen metabolism in healthy men at rest and during exercise?
Free fatty acid levels inversely correlate with myocardial carbohydrate extraction and positively correlate with myocardial oxygen extraction, suggesting FFA may increase myocardial oxygen requirements.
Abstract The relationship of fatty acids to the metabolism of the human heart has been investigated in 41 healthy fasting men. In some subjects low plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations were produced by infusing nicotinic acid. There existed negative correlations between myocardial extraction of glucose, lactate and pyruvate and that of FFA. Furthermore significant negative linear relationships between myocardial extraction of glucose and lactate and that of FFA were also present on partial correlation analysis eliminating the influence of other carbohydrate substrates. Possible explanations for these findings were discussed. Myocardial extraction of oxygen was positively related to that of FFA at rest unrelated to heart rate. The possibility, and its clinical implications, that FFA may increase myocardial oxygen requirements was discussed.
Wahlqvist et al. (Fri,) studied this question.