Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 19.
doi: 10.1002/ejhf.3528. Online ahead of print.

Association between locomotor muscle quality and cardiac function during exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Salaheddin M Sharif  1 , Joshua R Smith  1 , Barry A Borlaug  1 , Thomas P Olson  1
Affiliations

Association between locomotor muscle quality and cardiac function during exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Salaheddin M Sharif et al. Eur J Heart Fail. .

Abstract

Aims: Muscle quality (MQ) is used to assess skeletal muscle function; however, the relationship between MQ and cardiac function during exercise in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unknown. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the relationship between locomotor MQ and cardiac function during exercise in HFpEF.

Methods and results: A total of 22 HFpEF patients and 23 healthy matched controls (CTL) were recruited. Body composition including leg lean mass percentage (LL%) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed and peak oxygen uptake (VO2) was measured. Cardiac output (CO) was measured via the open-circuit acetylene wash-in technique, heart rate by electrocardiogram, and cardiac power output (CPO) was calculated. Blood pressure was measured manually and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated. MQ was calculated as peak watts divided by LL%. LL% was significantly lower in HFpEF than in CTL (p < 0.05). At peak exercise, workload, VO2, CO, and CPO were significantly lower in HFpEF (p < 0.05 for all). MQ was significantly lower in HFpEF than in CTL (1.6 ± 0.4 vs. 2.3 ± 0.6 W/%, p < 0.0001). MQ was positively correlated with CO (r = 0.51), CPO (r = 0.72) and MAP (r = 0.64) in HFpEF (p < 0.05 for all) but not in CTL.

Conclusion: Our data suggest MQ is closely related to cardiac function at peak exercise in HFpEF. These data suggest that MQ may be a useful tool for understanding exercise performance in HFpEF.

Keywords: Body composition; Heart failure; Muscle atrophy; Muscle strength; Sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Borlaug BA, Sharma K, Shah SJ, Ho JE. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: JACC scientific statement. J Am Coll Cardiol 2023;81:1810–1834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.01.049
    1. Pandey A, Shah SJ, Butler J, Kellogg DL Jr, Lewis GD, Forman DE, et al. Exercise intolerance in older adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: JACC state‐of‐the‐art review. J Am Coll Cardiol 2021;78:1166–1187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2021.07.014
    1. Bekfani T, Pellicori P, Morris DA, Ebner N, Valentova M, Steinbeck L, et al. Sarcopenia in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Impact on muscle strength, exercise capacity and quality of life. Int J Cardiol 2016;222:41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.07.135
    1. Haykowsky MJ, Brubaker PH, Morgan TM, Kritchevsky S, Eggebeen J, Kitzman DW. Impaired aerobic capacity and physical functional performance in older heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction: Role of lean body mass. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2013;68:968–975. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glt011
    1. Haykowsky MJ, Kouba EJ, Brubaker PH, Nicklas BJ, Eggebeen J, Kitzman DW. Skeletal muscle composition and its relation to exercise intolerance in older patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. Am J Cardiol 2014;113:1211–1216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.12.031

LinkOut - more resources