Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of nicorandil on cardiac function and blood glucose in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF). Methods 64 patients with CHF were randomly divided into control group and treatment group. Both 2 groups received conventionaltherapy for heart failure. And the treatment group was treated with nicorandil additionally (5 mg once, 3 times a day for 12 weeks). 6-minutewalk text (6MWT), plasma N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial 2 hours plasmaglucose (P2hPG) and glycated hemoglobin A1c (GHbA1c) were measured before and after treatment. Results After the treatment, the6-minute walking distance and the plasma NT-proBNP levels of both groups were improved significantly (P<0.01), especially in treatmentgroup (P<0.05); the level of FPG, P2hPG and GHbA1c were not significantly different between 2 groups. Conclusion Nicorandil can effectivelyimprove the exercise tolerance of the patients with CHF, reduce the Plasma NT-proBNP level, but it has no effect on the level of bloodglucose.

Key words: nicorandil, chronic heart failure, 6-Minute Walk Test, brain natriuretic peptide, exercise tolerance, blood glucose