Heart failure is failure of the cardiac pump that is unable to deliver the oxygen and nutrients (blood flow) necessary for the organs to function. It results in breathlessness and fatigue.

This disease is due to an intrinsic defect of the heart muscle or its irrigation by the coronary vessels, alteration of energetic metabolism or heart desynchronization. A desynchronized heart is a heart that has lost the balance of the propagation of electrical impulses and thus the resulting contraction. Thus a wall can contract while another one is at rest with a consequent significant loss of efficiency.

Some Liryc doctors participated in the development of cardiac resynchronization in heart failure.This electrical therapy consists of implanting pacing leads in the ventricular chambers. It aims to specifically correct the electrical dysfunctions in order to harmonize the contraction of the ventricles and provide better cardiac output.

​This technique is efficient in terms of quality of life, reduction in hospitalizations and healthcare costs, as well as in reducing mortality. CRT is the validated and recommended treatment for severe heart failure patients with wide QRS complexes only, meaning that a broad range of heart failure patients, cannot benefit from this treatment. 

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has expanded rapidly in the clinical field  despite a limited understanding of its action mechanisms. If applied at an early stage of electrical dysfunction, this therapy may prevent the development and worsening of heart failure, with potentially major clinical and socio-economical impact.

Further improvements will require intensive basic research to understand how electrical dysfunctions lead to heart failure, or conversely, how CRT can improve myocardial function and prognosis. Close collaboration between scientists, clinicians and industry is needed to provide technological advances for optimal treatment and monitoring of heart failure patients