Abnormalities in exercising skeletal muscle in congestive heart failure can be explained in terms of decreased mitochondrial ATP synthesis, reduced metabolic efficiency, and increased glycogenolysis.

Abstract

Skeletal muscle exercise abnormalities in patients with congestive heart failure results more from decreased metabolic efficiency than from the abnormalities in mitochondrial oxidation. Both decreased efficiency and defective mitochondrial oxidation result in an increased activation of glycogen phosphorylase, and may be improved by exercise training.