New Heart Model Developed to Treat Heart Failure

Scientists from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin Ireland report the development of a new lab-based model of a heart and circulatory system. The goal is to help test devices to treat patients with one of the most common forms of heart failure.

There are two common types of heart failure: Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) and Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF). Ejection fraction is the measurement used to determine the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body.

In recent years, the number of patients presenting with heart failure with normal or preserved ejection fraction measurement has been increasing, most likely due to common risk factors, including old age, hypertension, and obesity. Women are at greater risk than men.

In the research from RCSI, a model called a “mock circulatory loop” was developed to mimic both a healthy heart and a heart in failure with preserved ejection fraction. The model can test devices to examine the left atrium (the top chamber responsible for receiving oxygen-rich blood from the lungs) and the left ventricle (the lower chamber responsible for pumping the oxygen-rich blood around the body), according to the researchers. The investigators said, “In this work, a novel mock circulatory loop (MCL) is presented that is capable of simulating both healthy cardiac function and HFpEF.

This MCL differs from others in the literature as it features two independently actuated heart chambers, representing the left atrium and the left ventricle. This is an important improvement over other designs as it allows for potential HFpEF treatments to be examined, not just in relation to their effect on the left ventricle but also on the left atrium.”

The development of this lab-based model is a milestone in heart failure research as it enables devices to be tested that have the potential to treat a condition that affects millions of people around the world, improving their quality of life and reducing the burden on health services. The research was funded by Enterprise Ireland, which supports the development of the RCSI pipeline spin-out company, Pumpinheart, which plans to commercialize a novel medical device to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.