In patients with heart failure (HF), it is important to perform exercise therapy with a focus on the pathophysiology of skeletal muscle. Patients with HF have multiple clinical symptoms due to cardiac dysfunction. Recent studies demonstrated the mechanism and treatment strategy for HF, and multiple signaling pathways involved in HF result in reduced exercise capacity and skeletal muscle mass. On the other hand, exercise therapy for HF is known to inhibit the inflammatory cytokines and neurohumoral factors, and increase muscle mass. Therefore, in this chapter, we discuss the importance of exercise therapy for HF, with a focus on the pathophysiology of skeletal muscle.
Part of the book: Muscle Cell and Tissue