Heart Corset to Reduce Congestive Heart Failure

Scientists have designed a new "heart-reinforcing corset" to help combat congestive heart failure. While there isn't a large degree of understanding of the condition, many believe that the heart expands in order to pump more blood as a reaction to damage or valve problems. This expansion generally exacerbates the problem, so the new reinforcing band is attempting to control the expansion of the heart thereby reducing the chance of failure.

Comments

Unsure if this is addressing the real problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

My understanding is that the heart enlarges to push blood better through blood vessels that have become smaller from plaque buildup. While the corset may prevent this; it doesn't fix the problem of the arteries occluding from poor diet, smoking, diabetes, and genetic predisposition. The way they fix this now is through arterial grafts to create a bypass. This technological corset application might help somewhat but it's skating the issue of preserving cardiovascular health. I have no medical training but I have learned about this the hardway by caring for a parent that has had several heart attacks. A word of advice: Not all doctors are equal or willing to take risks becuase of the lawsuit factor. Don't let it discourage you! Find THAT doctor who wants to help. He/She can make all the difference between languishing in a bed on meds or a recovery at home with new functioning arteries and a chance to resume life(Not instantly of course).