Cardiac contractility modulation in patients with advanced heart failure.

Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) is a novel device-based therapy for heart failure that involves applying electrical signals during the absolute refractory period of the myocardial action potential. This therapy has been shown to augment the strength of left ventricular contraction independent of myocardial oxygen consumption in animal models as well as human studies of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fractions. The mechanism underlying CCM is an alteration of myocardial calcium handling in a fashion that extends beyond the traditional pharmacological effects of inotropic agents. Analysis of myocardial tissue from both animal models and human hearts treated by CCM demonstrates a shift of abnormally expressed genes towards normal function, positively affecting pathways involving proteins that regulate calcium cycling and myocardial contraction. CCM effects are proven to be independent of QRS duration; however, clinical studies to date have primarily focused on patients with normal QRS since cardiac resynchronization therapy is a well-established option for patients with heart failure and a prolonged QRS duration. Clinical trials show that CCM improves exercise tolerance, as measured by VO(2,peak) and quality of life, assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. The device is currently available for the treatment of heart failure in Europe. Approval in the USA is pending additional testing currently underway using a protocol approved by the US FDA.