Soleus Muscle as a Surrogate for Health Status in Human Heart Failure.

We propose the hypothesis that soleus muscle function may provide a surrogate measure of functional capacity in patients with heart failure. We summarize literature pertaining to skeletal muscle as a locus of fatigue and present our recent findings, using in vivo imaging in combination with biomechanical experimentation and modeling, to reveal novel structure-function relationships in chronic heart failure skeletal muscle and gait.