Multicenter controlled study of creatine phosphate in the treatment of heart failure

Abstract

A multicenter trial was conducted in patients with heart failure to evaluate the effects of creatine phosphate in addition to conventional therapy (ie, digitalis, diuretics, nitrates). Clinical symptoms and New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes, electrocardiographic (ECG) signs of ischemia, and use of sublingual nitroglycerin were evaluated. A total of 1,007 patients were entered in the study; 508 patients were randomized to receive creatine phosphate (CP) 1 gm twice daily intravenously for 2 weeks followed by 1 month of CP at a daily dose of 500 mg intramuscularly in addition to conventional therapy and 499 patients in the control group were treated with conventional therapy only. Both groups were comparable with regard to sex, age, study period, type of drugs used, and pathogenesis of heart failure. At the beginning of the study, clinical conditions and ECG parameters were not statistically different between groups. During the study period, the number of patients in NYHA classes III and IV decreased significantly more in the CP group than in the control group. The clinical symptoms of heart failure (dyspnea, pulmonary stasis, and peripheral edema), the main signs of ischemia (angina pectoris, number of patients taking sublingual nitroglycerin, negative T wave), and the incidence of ventricular premature beats improved significantly more in the CP group than in the control group.