Heart Failure

More than six million Americans suffer from chronic heart failure, and one of its key antagonizers is inflammation. Now, a landmark study has found that cell therapy can intervene, greatly reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Unfortunately donated organs don’t last long in storage. But now scientists have demonstrated that an existing drug can reprogram donor hearts to last much longer outside the body, and reduce their risk of failure after transplantation.

If someone is at risk of heart failure, it's important to monitor their vital signs on an ongoing basis. An experimental new wearable is designed to do exactly that, and it takes the form of an electronically endowed belt.

Scientists see great potential in pacemaking technology that more closely mimics the natural variability of our heart rate, and are preparing to test out a "revolutionary" new device that does just that, following successful trials in animals.

Scientists have made an intriguing discovery that could see radiation therapy become a less invasive treatment for heart arrhythmia. The technique seems to activate the heart cells to revert to a younger state and repair the tissue.

The heart has a limited capacity to heal itself, so heart attack survivors often have further episodes. Now, scientists have grown heart cells from stem cells, embedded them onto microspheres and injected them into damaged hearts to help repair them.

Heart failure often requires a transplant of the whole organ. Now scientists at EPFL have developed an artificial aorta that can help pump blood, taking some of the pressure off the heart to reduce or even eliminate the need for a transplant.

A new observational study, analyzing data from nearly half a million UK subjects, suggests improving sleep behavior is an important intervention for both clinicians and patients looking to reduce risk of heart failure.

One of the ways physicians can gain some forewarning of impending heart failure is through the detection of excess fluid in the lungs, and MIT researchers have developed a new machine learning tool that could offer them a helping hand.

The most common symptom of heart failure is shortness of breath due to fluid in the lungs. A potentially life-saving app was made with this in mind, as it analyzes the user's voice to see if they're experiencing heart failure-related lung congestion.

Heart failure isn't necessarily something that happens all at once, but is instead an ongoing condition that has to be monitored. A new wearable is designed to help, by preemptively detecting changes that could ultimately require hospitalization.

Even if one survives a heart attack, the formation of thick scar tissue can increase the chance of heart failure. Now researchers have found a way to improve the quality of scar tissue in animal models, resulting in improved heart function.