ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the therapeutic effects of phosphocreatine in elderly patients with chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) and its effects on plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty elderly patients with chronic CHF were randomly divided into two groups to receive basic treatment (control group) and additional phosphocreatine treatment (treatment group) with a treatment course of 8 weeks. The patients were evaluated for improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, symptoms, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the levels of BNP before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 8 weeks of treatment, the overall efficacy rate was significantly higher in treatment group than in the control group, and LVESD, LVEDD, LVEF and BNP level of the treatment group were significantly lowered in comparison with those of the control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Phosphocreatine in addition to the basic treatment can reduce the BNP level and improve the cardiac systolic and diastolic function in elderly patients with chronic CHF.</p>