[New non-pharmacological treatment methods in heart failure]

Abstract

The incidence of chronic heart failure (CHF) increases with the aging of the population and with the improvement in survival of patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes, diseases which constitute the most common causes for the development of CHF. Despite the significant improvement in the treatment of patients with CHF, mortality in recent years has improved slightly. The primary treatment method for chronic heart failure is pharmacotherapy, but it has limitations. The existing data encourages to look for new treatment methods for CHF, replacing or enhancing traditional ones while constituting a low nuisance for patients. New non-pharmacological methods, including therapies based on the use of stem cells, molecular therapy, modern devices supporting the heart such as cardiac contractility modulation, spinal cord stimulation, carotid sinus nerve stimulation, cervical and intracardiac atrioventricular nodal vagal stimulation, implantable monitoring devices and wearable cardioverter-defibrillator or the treatment of comorbid diseases such as hypertension and sleep dis- orders could be of particular importance.