title: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation for muscle wasting in heart failure patients.
abstract: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) seems to be safe and beneficial in improvement in functional capacity, muscle strength, and quality of life when compared with conventional aerobic exercise, while the change in muscle fiber composition and muscle size was conflicting in patients with heart failure (HF). Moreover, NMES studies seem to have beneficial effects on pro-inflammatory cytokine, oxidative enzyme activity, and protein anabolic and catabolic metabolism that are the key molecular mechanism of muscle wasting in patients with HF. We review specific issues related to the effects of NMES on muscle wasting in patients with HF, whether NMES seems to be an alternative exercise modality preventing or improving in muscle wasting for HF patients who are unable or unwilling to engage in conventional exercise training; however no established strategies currently exist to focus on the patients with HF accompanied by muscle wasting.
authors.affiliation: Innovative Clinical Trials, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany. Electronic address: msaitoh@shi.heart.or.jp.
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.affiliation: Innovative Clinical Trials, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany; Heart Institute (InCor), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Rodrigues
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Charité - Campus Benjamin Franklin (CBF), Department of Cardiology, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anker
authors.affiliation: Innovative Clinical Trials, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Anker
authors.affiliation: Innovative Clinical Trials, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: von Haehling
authors.affiliation: Innovative Clinical Trials, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Springer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Chronic heart failure; Muscle wasting; Neuromuscular electrical stimulation; Sarcopenia