Not long ago, many people diagnosed with heart failure saw a future with worsening symptoms, repeated hospital stays and limited treatment options. Thankfully, today’s future looks very different.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) is working to redefine what's possible for people living with heart failure. While medications remain a foundation of care, new therapies are emerging. Mechanical devices can support failing hearts in ways that were once unimaginable. Advances in heart transplantation are expanding access to lifesaving donor hearts. And innovations in structural heart and valve therapies are creating new opportunities for heart failure prevention. These new treatments are helping heart failure patients stay healthier longer.
What is Heart Failure?
Heart failure is a complex condition that can affect people in different ways. Some develop heart failure because the heart muscle has weakened and cannot properly pump blood. Others have stiff hearts that cannot relax between beats, making it hard for the heart to fill with blood. Symptoms often make it difficult to stay active and may include: shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling.
Because heart failure isn’t the same for every patient, treatment often needs to be tailored. Researchers have discovered that different forms of heart failure respond better to different treatment approaches. That growing understanding is driving many of the advances transforming heart failure care today.
Heart-Helping Devices
For many patients, treatment extends beyond medication to include device-based therapies that support the heart’s function. These implantable devices can help the heart beat more efficiently, maintain a healthy rhythm or protect against potentially life-threatening complications. Pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices and cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are now commonly used to improve symptoms, reduce hospitalizations and extend life.
Researchers continue to explore new ways to use these implantable devices to improve heart failure care. For example, adding remote monitoring tools help doctors identify changes in a patient's condition before symptoms become severe enough to require hospitalization. These innovations are helping shift heart failure care from a reactive approach—treating problems after they occur—to a more proactive focus on early prevention.
Advanced Treatments
While many people successfully manage heart failure with medications and implantable devices, some patients eventually reach a stage in which symptoms persist despite optimal treatment. For these individuals, a growing range of advanced therapies offers new hope to improve both survival and quality of life.
One of the most significant advances has been the development of mechanical circulatory support devices, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices (VADs). These mechanical pumps help the heart circulate blood throughout the body when it can no longer pump effectively on its own. ECMO is used in critical, life-threatening situations to temporarily take over the work of both the heart and lungs, stabilizing patients in the intensive care setting.
In contrast, VADs offer extended support for patients with advanced heart failure. These devices help the heart pump more effectively over weeks, months or even years. For some, VADs serve as a long-term treatment option that improves quality of life and extends survival. For others, VADs provide temporary support while they await a donor heart.
Heart transplantation also continues to evolve. Advances in donor heart preservation, transportation and recipient care are helping expand access to this lifesaving therapy. Technologies like "Heart-in-a-Box" allow donor hearts to remain viable for longer periods, extending the availability of hearts for transplant and making it possible to reach more patients in need.
The Heart-Valve Connection
Heart failure is often connected to problems with the heart valves, which control blood flow through the heart. When valves do not open or close properly, the heart must work harder to circulate blood; this can contribute to heart failure over time.
In the past, many patients with valve disease required open-heart surgery, but minimally invasive procedures are giving patients new options. These innovative procedures use thin tubes (called catheters) inserted through a blood vessel to repair or replace damaged valves.
For many patients, these procedures can lead to significant improvements in symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue, and they may also help reduce the progression of heart failure. MHIF continues to study these structural heart therapies and their role in improving outcomes in patients with heart failure.
Advancing Future Heart Failure Care
These heart failure treatment breakthroughs didn't happen overnight. They are the result of decades of research, clinical trials and collaboration. At MHIF, researchers work alongside doctors to evaluate new therapies, technologies and treatment strategies designed to improve outcomes for patients living with heart failure. This work spans the full spectrum of care, including implantable devices, mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation and structural heart interventions. By participating in clinical trials, patients help MHIF bring promising innovations from research to real life, ensuring individuals have access to the latest advances and shaping the future of cardiovascular care.
