A relative is home after a heart attack and stent, and someone suggests booking NAD+ IV drips to help the heart heal. Is there evidence for that? A new hospital trial is the closest thing so far, and it does not support drips at a wellness clinic. In 120 heart attack patients in China, a week of NAD+ given by vein after emergency stenting produced a small improvement in one measure of heart pumping at 30 days, but no difference in the combined rate of major heart and brain events at six months. For now, the recovery plan from the cardiology team, including medicines and cardiac rehab, is what has proven value.
What the heart attack trial tested
The study, published online on October 30, 2026 in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, enrolled 120 people with an ST-elevation heart attack, the type caused by a fully blocked artery, who were treated with emergency angioplasty and a stent. Half received intravenous NAD+ once a day for seven days in the hospital and half received a placebo, on top of standard heart attack treatment.
The main measure was ejection fraction at 30 days, the share of blood the left ventricle pushes out with each beat. The NAD+ group averaged about 56 percent and the placebo group about 53 percent, a difference of roughly 3 points that only just reached statistical significance. A blood marker of heart strain, NT-proBNP, was lower in the NAD+ group. Changes in the size and shape of the heart were mixed, and the rate of major heart and brain events at six months was not different between the groups.
The authors call the benefit modest and say larger trials are needed to confirm any long-term benefit. That is a fair reading: a small trial that hits a borderline result on a heart scan is a reason for further research, not a new standard of care.
The trial is listed in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, and the World Health Organization’s trial search portal shows the record. It was registered on April 28, 2022, three days after the first patient was enrolled, so it is marked as not prospectively registered. The plan was 60 patients per group, which matches the published total. The record excluded people with severe heart failure or shock, recent use of other heart “nutrient” drugs such as coenzyme Q10, serious liver or kidney problems, and pregnancy, so the results apply to a fairly narrow group of patients.
Why this is not the same as a wellness drip
Several differences matter for anyone weighing a clinic drip after a heart attack.
- Setting. The trial gave NAD+ in a hospital cardiology ward, in the days right after the artery was opened, with patients monitored and on full standard treatment.
- Timing. The idea being tested is protecting heart muscle during the first week after blood flow returns. It says nothing about drips weeks or months later.
- Product and amount. The registry describes the study drug as a coenzyme I injection given as a hospital medicine. Wellness drips vary in what is in the bag, how much, and how fast it runs.
- Outcomes. The trial did not show fewer repeat heart attacks, strokes, or deaths.
The best-known infusion study in healthy people, a 2019 pilot by Grant and colleagues, ran NAD+ into the vein over six hours and tracked blood and urine levels. Blood NAD+ did not rise at all for the first two hours, because the body cleared it as fast as it arrived. That study measured how the body handles NAD+, not whether it helps anyone. This site’s earlier look at NAD+ drip studies, linked below, covers that evidence in more detail.
Oral NAD+ boosters have also been tested in heart patients. A small placebo-controlled trial of nicotinamide riboside in heart failure found it was well tolerated and roughly doubled blood NAD+ levels, but it did not improve walking distance, quality of life, or ejection fraction.
What to do with this news
If someone you know is recovering from a heart attack, the useful step is to bring the question to the cardiology team rather than booking a drip. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advises taking heart medicines exactly as prescribed, not skipping or changing doses without the doctor, and completing a cardiac rehabilitation program. People on blood thinners and antiplatelet drugs should also mention any infusion, supplement, or injection to the care team before starting it.
NAD+ vials sold online for research use are not what these patients received, and those products are not meant for people. Watch for larger, multi-country trials that report repeat heart attacks, heart failure, and deaths, not just a scan result at one month.
Sources
- Yu X, Cao J, et al. Effect of Intravenous Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide on Left Ventricular Function After Primary PCI in STEMI: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs, 2026 (PubMed 42961639)
- Journal article page, doi 10.1007/s40256-026-00826-4
- WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform: ChiCTR2200059333
- Grant R, et al. A Pilot Study Investigating Changes in the Human Plasma and Urine NAD+ Metabolome During a 6 Hour Intravenous Infusion of NAD+. Front Aging Neurosci, 2019
- Wang DD, et al. Safety and Tolerability of Nicotinamide Riboside in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction. JACC Basic Transl Sci, 2022 (PubMed 36644285)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Heart Attack Recovery
Related reading
- Can an NAD+ Booster Help a Weak Heart? A Small Placebo Trial Checked
- Before Booking an NAD+ IV Drip, Read What the Infusion Studies Recorded
- After a Heart Attack, Thymosin Beta-4’s Benefit Showed Up Only in a Subgroup
By The Everyday Brief. AI-assisted drafting with automated source and editorial checks. Sources fetched 2026-10-30 PT. Not medical advice.