Research

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Exogenous infusion of sodium-3-hydroxybutyrate (ketone bodies) in healthy humans significantly reduces myocardial glucose uptake and increases myocardial blood flow.

For healthy individuals, raising ketone levels (e.g., through fasting, ketogenic diet, or supplementation) shifts the heart's fuel source from glucose to ketones and increases blood flow to the heart muscle. This metabolic shift may be beneficial for cardiac efficiency and health, particularly in conditions where glucose utilization is impaired or blood flow is restricted.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Ketone bodies displace MGU and increase myocardial blood flow in healthy humans; these novel observations suggest that ketone bodies are important cardiac fuels and vasodilators, which may have therapeutic potentials.
Lars Christian Gormsen et al. · Journal of the American Heart Association · 2017

Why this rating

Randomized crossover trial with rigorous metabolic control (hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp) and direct measurement via PET/CT, though small sample size (n=8).

Source

Ketone Body Infusion With 3‐Hydroxybutyrate Reduces Myocardial Glucose Uptake and Increases Blood Flow in Humans: A Positron Emission Tomography Study

Lars Christian Gormsen et al. · Journal of the American Heart Association · 2017

DOI 10.1161/jaha.116.005066

crossover · n=8Cited 233×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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