More than 800,000 people die every year due to cardiovascular diseases. That’s why it’s so important to understand the signs and symptoms of heart failure in both men and women and work to prevent heart disease in the first place. If you have a pre-existing heart problem, however, the following four advancements in heart disease treatments may help you find solutions to improve your heart health.

1. Medications

For many years, heart failure was treated with medicines that lower blood pressure, improve the heart’s ability to pump, slow heart rates, improve heart rhythms, and prevent scarring. While these medicines have helped many patients, new medicine options are surfacing that many health professionals believe will be even more effective in improving overall heart health. Some of these medicine options include the following:

• Ivabradine (Corlanor): a drug used to stabilize chest pain and heart failure
• Sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto): a drug that helps to lower the risk of death and hospitalization for adults with poor heart health
• Semaglutide: a drug used to help obese patients who have heart conditions

2. Technological Advancements

By 2030, it’s estimated that over eight million adults will have a form of heart failure, a 50% increase since 2010. The good news is that there are many new and emerging advancements in digital health technologies that may help improve patient outcomes, including:

• Holter Monitor: a device calibrated to a patient’s heart and fitted at the doctor’s office. The monitor allows doctors to check on a patient’s heart health to ensure that treatment plans are working correctly. Doctors check on the progress of a patient’s heart health at their next appointment.
• Zio Patch: a small water-resistant patch that is applied to the patient’s chest. After two weeks with the patch attached, the patient returns the patch for analysis.
• Implantable devices: a small device that is implanted into a patient’s pulmonary artery during a surgical procedure. Once inserted, the device reads the patient’s pulmonary artery pressure and sends the data to their cardiologist for review. Findings from the CHAMPION trial found that this device significantly reduces the risk of heart failure and hospitalizations by about 28%.
• Phone Apps: there are many apps that can help patients monitor their heart rhythms. These apps can pick up irregular heartbeats or increased heart rates to help patients with their heart failure treatments. Some of these apps include Health Failure Storylines, the Apple Health App, and the Blood Pressure Monitor.

3. The Bionic Pacemaker

Recent developments in pacemaker technology have surfaced in 2022 that may re-establish a heart’s irregular beat. The Centre of Heart Research at the University of Auckland has spent the last decade monitoring human hearts to improve pacemaker technology. Julian Paton, lead researcher for this study stated, “Currently all pacemakers pace the heart metronomically, which means a very steady, even pace. But when you record heart rate in a healthy individual, you see it is constantly on the move.”

While pacemakers currently create a metronomically steady beat, the bionic pacemaker introduces a natural variation in the heartbeat. In addition to improving a patient’s overall energy, this pacemaker offers a 20 percent improvement in the heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body. Further studies need to occur before this technology can be officially introduced, but the future of pacemaker technology looks promising.

4. Mechanical Hearts

A small study recently conducted by Hesham Sadek, MD has shown promise in the development of regenerative heart therapies. This study found that mechanical heart technology can generate new muscle tissue for patients experiencing heart failure. Future research will focus on replicating the results of this study in larger experimental studies.

With so many new technological advances, and more coming every year, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of cardiac care. Your healthcare team will determine if any of these new treatments are right for you and if they can help you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you have any concerns with your heart health, text or call your Revere Health cardiologist to discuss treatment options.