Hydrogen Gas May Reduce Heart Damage in Rats
Hydrogen Gas Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Independent of Postconditioning in Rats by Attenuating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Autophagy
Research hubs: Cardiovascular System
This research was done in animals. Results in animals often don't carry over to people.
- Evidence type
- Animal study (rat)
- Authors
- Yunan Gao, Hongxiao Yang, Jing Chi, Qiannan Xu, Luqi Zhao, Weijia Yang, Weifan Liu, Wei Yang
- Journal
- Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry
- Year
- 2017
- PMID
- 29035876
- Study Type
- Rat
- Participants
- 70
- Delivery
- Gas
- Dose
- 2% hydrogen administered by inhalation 5 min before reperfusion till 2 hours after reperfusion
- H₂ concentration
- 2% H2 gas
- Duration
- 1 day or less
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Cited by
- 54 (OpenAlex, as of November 2026)
- Country
- China
TL;DR
Breathing in hydrogen gas helps reduce heart damage caused by interrupted blood flow and its restoration in rats better than other treatments tested.
Key Finding
Inhaled hydrogen gas reduced heart tissue damage and markers of cardiac injury more effectively than a standard protective technique called ischemic postconditioning in rats experiencing simulated heart attack conditions.
Summary
This rat study tested whether inhaling hydrogen gas could protect heart tissue from damage caused by temporarily cutting off blood flow and then restoring it—a type of injury that occurs during heart attacks. Researchers found that rats breathing 2% hydrogen gas had less heart damage, lower levels of a heart-injury marker in the blood, and reduced cellular stress compared to rats that didn't receive hydrogen.
Practical Takeaway
This is early-stage animal research showing hydrogen inhalation may help protect heart tissue during ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, this was only tested in rats, not humans, so it's unknown whether these results would apply to people or what dose and timing would be appropriate. Much more research, including human studies, would be needed before hydrogen could be considered a cardiac treatment.
Abstract (excerpt)
Background/aims: To study the effect of inhaling hydrogen gas on myocardial ischemic/reperfusion(I/R) injury in rats. Methods: Seventy male Wistar albino rats were divided into five groups at random as the sham group (Sham). The I/R group (I/R), The ischemic postconditioning group (IPo), The I/R…