Acute Echocardiographic Effects of Exogenous Ketone Administration in Healthy Participants

In a single-arm study, 20 fasting healthy participants (mean age 30 +/- 7 years, 50 percent women) underwent echocardiography before and 30 minutes after weight-based oral ketone ester. Beta-hydroxybutyrate rose from a median of 0.13 mmol/L to 3.23 mmol/L. Afterward, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, biventricular function, left ventricular global longitudinal strain and left atrial strain increased, while systemic vascular resistance decreased. Ejection fraction rose by 3.1 percent and global longitudinal strain by 2.0 percent, and the change in strain was inversely associated with the change in nonesterified fatty acids.