The influence of muscle mass, strength, fatigability and blood flow on exercise capacity in cachectic and non-cachectic patients with chronic heart failure

• Published in: European heart journal 1997-02, Vol.18 (2), p.259-269
• Main Authors: Anker, S. D., Swank, J. W., Volterrani, M., Chua, T. P., Clark, A. L., Poole-Wilson, P. A., Coats, A. J. S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Flow Velocity; Body Mass Index; Cachexia - complications; Cachexia - metabolism; Cachexia - physiopathology; cardiac cachexia; Cardiology. Vascular system; Catecholamines - blood; Chronic Disease; Chronic heart failure; Exercise Tolerance - physiology; fatigability; Heart; Heart Failure - complications; Heart Failure - metabolism; Heart Failure - physiopathology; Heart failure, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, cardiac enlargement; Humans; Leg - blood supply; leg blood flow; Male; maximal oxygen consumption; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Muscle Fatigue - physiology; muscle strength; Muscle, Skeletal - blood supply; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Muscle, Skeletal - physiopathology; Oxygen Consumption; Plethysmography; Predictive Value of Tests; Stroke Volume
• ISSN: 0195-668X; 1522-9645
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a015229

Background The influence of age, skeletal muscle function and peripheral blood flow on exercise capacity in chronic heart failure patients is controversial, possibly due to variations in skeletal muscle atrophy. Methods and results To assess predictors of exercise capacity in patients with clinical cardiac cachexia, we studied 16 cachectic and 39 non-cachectic male chronic heart failure patients of similar age and ejection fraction. All cachectic patients were wasted (% ideal body weight: 81 1·9 vs 105·2±2·1, P