Heart failure is treatable through drugs or mechanical intervention.

A number of medicines are now available that can effectively help people with heart failure. Of course the specific ones prescribed depend on the type and severity of the condition, but among the most frequently used are:

• Anticoagulant drugs to prevent blood clots
• Aspirin (also useful in preventing blood clots)
• Beta blockers , that is, drugs that slow down the heart rate and decreases the heart's workload
• Vasodilators , that is, drugs that open ("dilate") the arteries, lowering blood pressure and therefore the heart's workload.
• ACE inhibitors ACEIs, one of the newest and most frequently prescribed class of vasodilators, stop the production of a substance that contricts the blood vessels
• ARB's angiotensin receptor blockers which also reduce constriction of blood vessels in a manner similar to ACEI's
• Calcium-channel blockers are another class of drugs that dilate blood vessels, but only in some forms of heart failure
• Antiarrhythmic drugs that regulate the heartbeat
• Diuretics, that is, drugs that help eliminate excess fluid, and therefore aid the heart in working more efficiently; they also reduce the swelling and shortness of breath that often accompany cardiomyopathy
• Digitalis, a drug that strengthens the heartbeat

There are also a number of mechanical devices that can be implanted within a person to correct heart failure.  They include:

• Pacemaker : small (smaller than a matchbook) device surgically placed under the skin that sends electrical signals to the heart to restore its regular rhythm
• Usually used to correct heart rhythms that are too slow
• Biventricular pacemakers, with wires to both the upper (atria) and lower (ventricle) chambers of the heart synchronize the heart beats.
• Ventricular assist device (VAD or LVAD for left ventricular assist device): a mechanical pump implanted in the chest cavity to help the heart circulate blood.  It is a transitional step or bridge to transpant.
• Battery operated; microchip controlled (responds to individual's needs)
• Weighs about five pounds
• Usually considered a temporary implant, that is, a transitional step until a heart transplant can be done, but approved by the FDA as destination therapy, meaning a transplant is not expected or intended.

To learn more about heart transplant, see Heart Failure Key Point #3

Soon, an artificial heart may become available for general use.  Also known as a Total Artificial Heart (TAH), this self-contained device would completely replace a natural heart.  Presently, the TAH is still in the experimental stage, but at least one company is now running clinical trials of their TAH using human subjects.