Surgical ventricular restoration for patients with heart failure

Abstract

On an annual basis, heart failure affects millions of people globally. Despite improvements in medications and percutaneous interventions, heart failure secondary to ischemic cardiomyopathy remains an important health issue. A large proportion of healthcare budgets are also dedicated to complications related to ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Drugs and mechanical devices have an ever-expanding role in our management of this growing patient population. However, cardiac transplantation continues to be the gold standard for treating advanced heart failure. Since there is a limited pool of suitable donor hearts, cardiac transplantation is not a viable option for many patients. Over the past five decades, various forms of surgical ventricular restoration have been proposed as an appealing option for treating heart failure in very select and specific cases. Given the pathophysiology of ischemic cardiomyopathy, literature suggests that, in those particular settings, reasonable results can be achieved by surgically restoring the ventricle to its original geometry. Herein, we explore the evidence on different operative techniques for ventricular restoration. We also present the latest findings for surgical ventricular restoration in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.