Voluntary physical activity counteracts Chronic Heart Failure progression affecting both cardiac function and skeletal muscle in the transgenic Tg αq*44 mouse model

To improve the life quality of patients with chronic heart failure, the development of countermeasures that positively affect both cardiac and skeletal muscle is essential. Whether voluntary wheel running is effective in preventing or normalizing alterations of skeletal muscle associated with heart failure and at what stage of the disease it shows its effectiveness it has not yet been well defined. Prolonged voluntary exercise training intervention performed before the end ‐stage heart failure, leads to positive effects not only on cardiac function but also in skeletal muscle reducing oxidative damage and thus representing a useful therapeutic modality to counteract physical activity decline. AbstractPhysical activity is emerging as an alternative nonpharmaceutical strategy to prevent and treat a variety of cardiovascular diseases due to its cardiac and skeletal muscle beneficial effects. Oxidative stress occurs in skeletal muscle of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients with possible impact on muscle function decline. We determined the effect of voluntary ‐free wheel running (VFWR) in preventing protein damage in Tgαq*44 transgenic mice (Tg) characterized by a delayed CHF progression. In the early (6 months) and transition (12 months) phase of CHF, VFWR increased the daily mean distance covered by Tg mice eliminating the difference between Tg an d WT present before exercise at 12 months of age (WT Pre‐EX 3.62 ± 1.66 vs. Tg Pre‐EX 1.51 ± 1.09 km,P <  0....
Source: Physiological Reports - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Original Research Source Type: research