Improvement of exercise capacity of rats with chronic heart failure by long‐term treatment with trandolapril

The effects of long‐term treatment with trandolapril, an angiotensin I‐converting enzyme inhibitor, on exercise capacity of rats with chronic heart failure (CHF) following coronary artery ligation were examined. CHF was developed by 8 weeks after the coronary artery ligation. The running time of rats with CHF in the treadmill test was shortened to approximately 65% of that of sham‐operated rats (16.3±1.2 vs 25.1±1.6 min, n=7; P<0.05). ATP, creatine phosphate (CP), and lactate contents of the gracilis muscle of rats with CHF were similar to those of sham‐operated rats before running. After running, ATP and CP were decreased and lactate was increased in both rats with CHF and sham‐operated rats. There were no significant differences in the levels of energy metabolites between rats with CHF and sham‐operated rats. The rates of decrease in ATP and CP and rate of increase in lactate in the gracilis muscle of rats with CHF during exercise were greater than those of sham operated rats (2.5, 2.0 and 1.5 fold high, respectively), suggesting wastage of energy during exercise in the animals with CHF. Myofibrillar Ca2+‐stimulated ATPase (Ca‐ATPase) activity of skeletal muscle of rats with CHF was increased over that of the sham‐operated control (62.03±1.88 vs 52.34±1.19 μmol Pi mg−1 protein h−1 n=7; P<0.05). The compositions of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms of gracilis muscle were altered by CHF; decreases in MHC types I and IIb and an increase in MHC type IIa were found (P<0.05). Rats with CHF were treated with 1 mg kg−1 day−1 trandolapril from the 2nd to 8th week after surgery. Treatment with trandolapril prolonged the running time, reversed the rates of decrease in ATP and CP and the rate of increase in lactate, and restored the Ca‐ATPase activity (51.11±0.56 μmol Pi mg−1 protein h−1, n=7; P<0.05) and composition ratio of MHC isoforms in the gracilis muscle. The results suggest that long‐term trandolapril treatment of rats with CHF may restore their ability to utilize energy without wastage and thus improve exercise capacity. British Journal of Pharmacology (1999) 126, 1585–1592; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0702471