[Pantothenic acid metabolic disorder and its relation to the change in energy processes in patients with ischemic heart disease and hypertension].

Pantothenic acid metabolism and the status of energy processes in leukocytes were examined in 171 patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease. It was shown that the patients' body supply with the vitamin decreased as the disease progressed and heart failure supervened. The deficiency of pantothenic acid was shown to be interrelated with the impairment of energy processes. Application of pantothenate in a dose of 200 mg a day for two weeks led to the increased content of pantothenic acid and to normalization of energy processes.