Congestive Heart Failure

Research

Investigational Treatments

Percutaneous Heart Valve Repair

Leaky heart valves can cause or worsen heart failure by overworking the heart. Several novel, percutaneous (meaning implanted through the skin, without surgery) devices to reduce or prevent leakage of heart valves are under investigation at Mayo.

Implantable Sensor

Pressure changes in the heart or a change in compounds in the blood often precede worsening of the signs and/or symptoms of heart failure. Investigators are studying tiny implantable microchip sensors that can detect these changes. The sensors can be independent devices about the size of a dime or incorporated into other devices such as permanent pacemakers. The sensors record any changes. That record can be transmitted electronically to a patient's doctors. The sensors help warn when a heart failure crisis is imminent, allowing doctors to treat the condition before symptoms become severe enough to require emergency care or hospitalization. Mayo investigators have been evaluating some of these devices, especially in pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure.

New Surgical Approaches

Several new surgical techniques are being studied for the treatment of heart failure. One technique is surgery which wraps a failing heart in a mesh bag. The goal is to prevent a weakened heart from enlarging and failing further. A surgeon pulls the mesh wrap over the base of the heart and attaches it with stitches. Another surgical procedure, called ventricular remodeling, removes heart muscle tissue damaged by a heart attack or aneurysm (weak, bulging area of tissue) and returns the ventricle to a more normal shape. The goal of the surgery is to ameliorate the symptoms of heart failure and/or angina (chest pain) and possibly improve the heart's pumping ability.

Artificial Heart

The all-mechanical artificial heart is a reality but is still considered an investigational technique due to the complexity and complications involved in managing the device. Also available are mechanical devices that replace the function of only one side of the heart — either left or right. Mayo's cardiovascular surgeons are using and studying these devices.

Xenotransplantation

The major limitation of heart transplantation as a treatment of heart failure is the supply of donor organs. Xenotransplantation is the use of animals as donors to humans. Research is rapidly progressing on genetically altering pigs so that their hearts (and possibly other organs) can be transplanted into humans. Read more about Mayo's pioneering work in the field of xenotransplantation.