Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, including details on myalgic encephalomyelitis (me), diagnosis, gradual and sudden onset.

Maximum oxygen uptake corrected for skeletal muscle mass accurately predicts functional improvements following exercise training in chronic heart failure.

LeMaitre JP, Harris S, Hannan J, Fox KA, Denvir MA

Cardiology, Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle mass and peak oxygen uptake are important predictors of functional status and outcome in patients with stable chronic heart failure. AIMS: To assess changes in skeletal muscle mass and peak oxygen uptake following an exercise training program. METHODS: Thirty-six patients with moderate stable chronic heart failure were randomly allocated to either a bicycle ergometer (bike) or functional electrical muscle stimulators (FES) applied to quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles to be used daily for six weeks. Dual-energy X-ray absorptionometry (DEXA) scanning was performed before and after training along with symptom limited cardiopulmonary exercise test, quadriceps strength and fatigue resistance, and 6-min walk test. RESULTS: Both exercise modalities resulted in improvements in treadmill exercise time, leg strength, 6-min walk test and peak oxygen uptake per kilogram of skeletal muscle. Despite significant improvements in functional capacity, there were no significant changes in body composition for total skeletal muscle mass, leg muscle mass or total body fat content. Skeletal muscle mass was strongly predictive of maximum oxygen uptake at baseline (r=0.61, p<0.001) and after exercise training (r=0.68, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In moderate stable chronic heart failure, exercise training using bicycle ergometer or FES results in favourable qualitative rather than quantitative changes in skeletal muscle. Correction of maximum oxygen uptake for skeletal muscle mass rather than total body mass is a more sensitive measure of changes associated with exercise training.

Published 15 May 2006 in Eur J Heart Fail, 8(3): 243-8.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Today. All Rights Reserved.