An electromechanical hug for the failing heart

Heart failure is a condition describing the failure of the heart to deliver sufficient amounts of blood to meet the oxygen requirements of the body. This is caused by a structural and/or functional cardiac abnormality. While a myocardial infarction (MI), which is caused by the occlusion of a coronary artery supplying blood to the myocardium, is probably the best known and most common cause of heart failure, many other diseases may lead to such an outcome (1).