Natural Supplement May Boost Long-Term Survival in New Heart Disease - Video

In a study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, the research team found that tricaprin, a natural supplement, can improve long-term survival and recovery from heart failure in patients with triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV).

TGCV is a new type of heart disease; it results from an impaired ability of the heart and smooth muscle cells to break down triglycerides, which causes structural and functional damage in the heart and blood vessels. These changes result in clogged arteries and weakened heart muscles, which may cause debilitating symptoms and eventually heart failure, necessitating heart transplantation.

The researchers enrolled patients diagnosed with the condition from Japanese registries and compared the survival rates between those who had received tricaprin and those who did not. The study involved 22 patients from 12 different hospitals who had received tricaprin and 190 controls. The researchers studied the effect of tricaprin on triglyceride breakdown; to overcome differences in the compared groups, 81 of the 190 controls were matched with the tricaprin group according to their baseline characteristics for comparison of survival rates.

All the enrolled patients initially had heart failure; nevertheless, the 3- and 5-year survival rates were significantly higher in the tricaprin group (100% and 100%, respectively) compared with the control group (78.6% and 68.1%, respectively). Another favorable result was that several patients who had positive effects with tricaprin were on hemodialysis. These patients have a very poor prognosis without tricaprin.

This new research delivers the hope that patients can not only sustain but also recover their hearts from debilitating heart failure.

Reference: Hirano, Ki., Okamura, S., Sugimura, K. et al. Long-term survival and durable recovery of heart failure in patients with triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy treated with tricaprin. Nat Cardiovasc Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-025-00611-7