The electrical signals that cause the heart to contract move in a spiral pattern. The devices may be used as a primary treatment or as a bridge to heart transplant in adults. Miniaturized battery-powered LVAD units, however, are allowing many patients to leave the hospital. Until recently, LVADs required that the patient be hooked up to a large, hospital-based console while awaiting a transplant. These may be implanted in the chest to increase heart pumping action. Recent advances may make artificial heart transplantation an option in the future. Surgical treatments for heart failure itself include: Heart TransplantationĪlthough a heart transplant may be the best option for patients with the most severe types of heart failure, this treatment is available to only a small number of people due to a shortage of donor hearts. Implantation of pacemakers and other devices such as artificial heart valves.In another type of procedure, instruments are introduced through the catheter to remove the plaque.

A small metal device, called a stent, may be inserted through the catheter to serve as a permanent barrier to keep the plaque compressed. When the balloon is inflated, the blockage material is compressed back against the walls of the artery. In one procedure, a balloon is introduced through the catheter into the center of a blocked blood vessel. A thin flexible tube called a catheter is inserted through a small incision in the groin or neck into a blood vessel. Angioplasty, another treatment for blocked arteries.This is conventionally done through open-heart surgery, but some patients may be candidates for minimally invasive CABG, an alternative offered at UCSF. During bypass surgery, blood vessels taken from another part of the body - usually the leg - are attached to the clogged artery to create a detour around the blockage. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG or 'cabbage') to prevent and treat heart failure caused by blocked arteries.Surgery Surgical options to treat underlying causes of heart failure Anti-arrhythmic drugs treat abnormal heart rhythms.Digoxin makes the heart beat stronger and slower, and regulates the rhythm of its contractions.

Potassium and magnesium supplements are often prescribed with diuretics to replace these minerals, which are excreted in urine.Spironolactone is a diuretic that preserves potassium and has been shown to reduce hospitalization and prolong life when used to treat advanced heart failure.Diuretics or water pills help the kidneys produce more urine and rid the body of excess fluid, which can stress the heart.Beta-blockers lower blood pressure and decrease and block the effect of harmful hormones that can cause disease progression.ACE-Inhibitors counteract the action of certain compounds formed by the body to regulate heart failure but which can contribute to disease progression.

Angiotensive converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which dilate, or widen, the arteries, improving blood flow and making it so that the heart doesn't have to pump as hard.

Reduce water and sodium in the body to lessen the heart's workload.

A number of medications are prescribed for heart failure, and most patients will take more than one drug.

Locked heart counseling