Cachexia, muscle wasting, and frailty in cardiovascular disease

Abstract

The last several years have seen increasing interest in understanding cachexia, muscle wasting, and physical frailty across the broad spectrum of patients with cardiovascular illnesses. This interest originally started in the field of heart failure, but has recently been extended to other areas such as atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease as well as to patients after cardiac surgery or transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Tissue wasting and frailty are prevalent among many of the affected patients. The ageing process itself and concomitant cardiovascular illness decrease lean mass while fat mass is relatively preserved, making elderly patients particularly prone to develop wasting syndromes and frailty. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the available knowledge of body wasting and physical frailty in patients with cardiovascular illness, particularly focussing on patients with heart failure in whom most of the available data have been gathered. In addition, mechanisms of wasting and possible therapeutic targets are discussed.

Myogenetic Oligodeoxynucleotide (myoDN) Recovers the Differentiation of Skeletal Muscle Myoblasts Deteriorated by Diabetes Mellitus

“…Therefore, a decrease in skeletal muscle mass disturbs systemic homeostasis and increases mortality in chronic diseases. Skeletal muscle wasting is present in around 30% of patients with heart failure and is associated with poor prognosis, probably in part, by increased inflammation and oxidative stress ( Bielecka-Dabrowa et al, 2020 ). Loss of skeletal muscle mass is present in up to 50% of cancer patients and is a predictor for lower survival during chemotherapy as it increases treatment toxicity ( Gibson et al, 2015 ).…”

The association of proBNPage with manifestations of age-related cardiovascular, physical, and psychological impairment in community-dwelling older adults

“…Despite that, we believe that proBNPage should not be considered a false indicator of biological age for the following reasons. (1) The impairment of cardiac and circulatory function is both an important consequence and a cause of the aging process [58,[62][63][64].…”

Heart failure in the last year: progress and perspective

“…Further common co‐morbidities associated with HF are chronic kidney disease, 52,53 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 54 central nervous system abnormalities, 55,56 sleep disordered breathing, 57 iron deficiency, cancer, 58–61 cachexia, 62–64 muscle wasting (sarcopenia), 51,65–69 and frailty 70–73 . The prevalence of frailty is increased in HF and is associated with worse outcome 74 . Its relation with outcome is independent from other variables in most of the studies.…”