Heart Failure
Other Treatment
Pacemakers
Biventricular pacemakers, which make the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) contract together, may be an option for people who have heart failure and problems with the heart's electrical system. Doctors call this treatment cardiac resynchronization therapy, or CRT. This type of pacemaker can help you feel better so you can be more active. It also can help keep you out of the hospital and help you live longer.4 In some cases, you may get a pacemaker that is combined with a device that can shock your heart back to a normal rhythm if it is beating dangerously fast. The device is called an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. For more information on pacemakers, see:
Implantable defibrillators (ICDs)
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are another possible treatment for people with heart failure. An ICD continuously checks the heart for life-threatening, rapid heart rhythms. If the heart goes into one of these rhythms, the ICD gives the heart a shock to stop the deadly rhythm and returns the heart to a normal rhythm. ICDs cannot improve symptoms of heart failure. But an ICD can prevent sudden death from an abnormal heart rhythm and may help you live longer.
An ICD may be used alone or combined with a biventricular pacemaker for people with heart failure. For more information, see:
Ventricular assist devices (VADs)
Ventricular assist devices (VADs), also known as heart pumps, are mechanical pumping devices that are inserted into the chest to help the heart pump more blood. VADs are used to keep people alive until a donor heart is available for transplant. In rare cases, VADs may also be used as an alternative to heart transplant for long-term treatment of severe heart failure. These devices require surgery to place the device and to make the connections between the heart and the device. See a picture of a ventricular assist device
.
Other Treatment Choices
Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a treatment sometimes used for heart failure.
Cardiac rehabilitation is often recommended in the treatment of heart failure before or after pacemaker implantation or other surgical interventions. For more information, see the topic Cardiac Rehabilitation.
An intra-aortic balloon pump may be used to stabilize a person during sudden heart failure.
What to Think About
Complementary or alternative therapy
No convincing evidence shows that nutritional or certain vitamin supplements are effective for treating heart failure.
But you may still hear about supplements that might relieve heart failure symptoms. Examples include coenzyme Q10 and hawthorn. Some people have tried coenzyme Q10 to relieve their heart failure symptoms. But only some of the studies of this supplement have shown that it relieves heart failure symptoms.7 Hawthorn is an herb that is sometimes used in Europe and Asia to try to increase blood flow to the heart. But neither of these supplements have been shown to help heart failure or lengthen lives.
Before you start taking any over-the-counter medicine or supplement, find out from your doctor if it is safe for you.
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| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: August 25, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology | |
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