What are the effects of L-carnitine compared with placebo or control on morbidity and mortality in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction?
Mayo Clin Proc · 2013 · PMID 23597877 · DOI 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.02.007
L-carnitine may reduce mortality, ventricular arrhythmias, and angina after a heart attack, but more research is needed.
The question
What are the effects of L-carnitine compared with placebo or control on morbidity and mortality in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction?
What they tested
The study implicitly hypothesizes that L-carnitine may reduce morbidity and mortality outcomes following an acute myocardial infarction.
How they did it
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 controlled trials (N=3629) was conducted. The trials compared L-carnitine to placebo or control and were identified through searches of Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase databases. Outcomes assessed included mortality, ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), angina, heart failure, and reinfarction.
What they found
L-carnitine was associated with a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 65% reduction in ventricular arrhythmias, and a 40% reduction in the development of angina. There was no significant reduction in the development of heart failure or myocardial reinfarction.
| All-cause mortality reduction | 27 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ventricular arrhythmias reduction | 65 | |
| Angina development reduction | 40 | |
| Heart failure development reduction | 0 | |
| Myocardial reinfarction reduction | 0 |
L-carnitine was associated with significant reductions in all-cause mortality, ventricular arrhythmias, and angina, but no reduction in heart failure or reinfarction.
What it means
L-carnitine is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, ventricular arrhythmias, and anginal symptoms in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction.
Limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state limitations of the meta-analysis itself, but it does suggest that further large randomized controlled trials are warranted.
Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.
The paper at a glance
| Title | L-carnitine in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis |
|---|---|
| Journal | Mayo Clin Proc |
| Year | 2013 |
| PMID | 23597877 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.02.007 ↗ |
| Topic | Cardiovascular & vascular aging |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
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L-Carnitine
Older and mostly small randomized trials, pooled in meta-analyses, suggest that L-carnitine given around the time of an acute myocardial infarction is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, ventricular arrhythmias and angina, and with attenuated left-ventricular dilation and smaller infarct size, effects…
L-carnitine is a naturally occurring, vitamin-like compound synthesized from the amino acids lysine and…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Molecules & mechanisms in this paper
Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). What are the effects of L-carnitine compared with placebo or control on morbidity and mortality in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction? [Plain-English summary of Mayo Clin Proc 2013, PMID 23597877, DOI 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.02.007]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/lcarnitine_cvd.html@misc{magellan_lcarnitine_cvd,
title = {What are the effects of L-carnitine compared with placebo or control on morbidity and mortality in patients who have experienced an acute myocardial infarction?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/lcarnitine_cvd.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 23597877; DOI 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.02.007; Mayo Clin Proc 2013. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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