Cardiac contractility modulation for heart failure, such as pacemaker therapy or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), Cardiac contractility modulation does not affect the cardiac rhythm directly. Rather, the aim is to enhance the heart’s natural contraction (the native cardiac contractility) sustainably over long periods of time. Furthermore, unlike most interventions that increase cardiac contractility, the Cardiac contractility modulation is not associated with an unfavorable increase in oxygen demand by the heart (measured in terms of Myocardial Oxygen Consumption or MVO). This may be explained by the beneficial effect the therapy has in improving cardiac efficiency. A meta-analysis in 2014 and an overview of device-based
Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (Cardiac EC coupling) describes the series of events, from the production of an electrical impulse (action potential) to the contraction of muscles in the heart. This process is of vital importance as it allows for the heart to beat in a controlled manner, without the need for conscious input. EC coupling results in the sequential contraction of the heart muscles that allows blood to be pumped, first to the lungs (pulmonary circulation) and then around the rest of the body (systemic circulation) at a rate between 60 and 100 beats every minute, when the