Low exercise tolerance has a large influence on health status in chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and chronic heart failure. In addition to primary organ dysfunction,
impaired skeletal muscle performance is a strong predictor of low exercise capacity. There
are striking similarities between both disorders with respect to the muscular alterations
underlying the impairment. However, different alterations occur in different muscle types.
Histologic and metabolic data show that peripheral muscles undergo a shift from oxidative to …