Table 1.
Characteristics of the study group and control group
| CHF group | Controls | P‐valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n = 33 | n = 20 | ||
| Age (years) | 63.1 (2.1) | 52.8 (2.6) | 0.003 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.7 (0.6) | 26.4 (0.9) | 0.011 |
| Left ventricular ejection fraction (%) | 28.5 (3.2) | — | |
| peakVO2 (mL/kg/min) | 16.8 (1.1) | 36.7 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| NYHA class I/II/III/IV | 2/13/14/4 | — | |
| Diuretic dose (mg)a | 77.3 (9.7) | — | |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 5.9 (0.4) | 5.1 (0.1) | NS |
| Fasting insulin (pmol/L) | 57.8 (−5.8,6.5) | 35.6 (−5.2,6.3) | 0.051 |
| Insulin sensitivity (105/min/pmol/L) | 1.73 (−0.24,0.26) | 4.84 (−0.61,+0.65) | <0.001 |
| Right quadriceps muscle | |||
| Absolute strength (N) | 357.2 (21.4) | 489.4 (32.7) | 0.001 |
| Cross‐sectional area (cm2) | 55.6 (2.2) | 66.9 (3.0) | 0.003 |
| Strength per unit area of muscle (N/cm2) | 6.20 (0.20) | 7.56 (0.44) 0.003 | |
| Leg blood flow (mL/100 mL/min) | 2.86 (0.2) | — | |
Results are expressed as means ± SEM, except for fasting insulin and insulin sensitivity, which, because of skewed distributions, are expressed as mean and asymmetrical SEM. Fasting insulin was logarithmically transformed, and insulin sensitivity square‐root transformed.
CHF, chronic heart failure; peakVO2 = maximal oxygen consumption.
NYHA, New York Heart Association Class.
a
Diuretic dose is expressed as furosemide equivalent dose (1 mg of bumetanide = 40 mg of furosemide).
b
P‐values refer to the differences between the groups from t‐tests.