Clinical myocardial recovery during long-term mechanical support in advanced heart failure: Insights into moving the field forward

Abstract

Myocardial remodeling induced by pressure and volume overload drives the vicious cycle of progressive myocardial dysfunction in chronic heart failure (HF). Mechanical volume and pressure unloading induced by implantable cardiac assist devices allows a reversal of stress-related compensatory responses of the overloaded myocardium so that selected patients requiring long-term mechanical circulatory support for advanced HF can achieve clinically meaningful degrees of improvement in the structure and function of their native heart. Insights from clinical and translational studies on myocardial recovery with mechanical circulatory support may enhance the understanding of how the pathophysiologic mechanisms of HF progression might be reversed. The end points of ongoing and future translational and clinical studies are discussed to identify specific investigational strategies that may advance the field of myocardial recovery driven by hemodynamic unloading of the heart.

Keywords: heart failure; mechanical unloading; myocardial recovery; myocardial remodeling; pressure overload; reverse remodeling; ventricular assist device.