Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Due to the lack of information on the effects of nutritional guidance focused on leucine intake in patients undergoing maintenance cardiac rehabilitation, this study investigated on plasma leucine concentrations, lean body mass, and muscle strength. METHODS: Nutritional guidance, focused on leucine (intervention group) or general nutritional guidance (control group), was provided for six months to patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation. Body composition, grip strength, hematological test results, and diet of both groups were compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Seven patients in the intervention group (53.2 ± 18.2 years) and 7 patients in the control group (58.6 ± 15.3 years) were included. Dietary survey results showed that the six-month intervention significantly (p < 0.05) increased protein intake and estimated leucine intake only in the intervention group. There was no significant difference in the rate of change in plasma leucine concentration between the two groups. The rate of change in lean body mass was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.035). The rate of change in plasma leucine concentration and that in lean body mass was positively correlated only in the intervention group (r = 0.777, p = 0.040), and the rate of change in plasma leucine concentration was also positively correlated with the rate of change in grip strength (ρ = 0.857, p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: In the patients undergoing maintenance cardiac rehabilitation, increased plasma leucine concentration by nutritional guidance focused on leucine increased lean body mass without any increasing the training load.