Chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: One problem, one solution?

Chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are both increasing in prevalence throughout the developed world. Despite new therapies especially for chronic heart failure, morbidity and mortality rates for both conditions remain high. This editorial highlights the skeletal myopathy that has been recognised in both diseases, and its central role in exercise limitation. Exercise training has been shown to benefit the myopathy, functional capacity and also survival, again in both conditions. Exercise training is now established in the guidelines for both diseases in the developed world and some reasons are suggested why its implementation has so far been limited especially for heart failure. In view of its effectiveness as a therapy, the failure to apply these guidelines should be addressed.