Electrical muscle stimulation in heart failure patients – a mini review

This review serves as a synopsis of current knowledge about electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) in patients with heart failure (HF). It summarizes actual data, emphasizes the beneficial effects of EMS in HF and tries to characterize a target population. Improvements of functional capacity and quality of life (QOL) are knowingly achieved by variable EMS protocols to the lower extremities. Overall, EMS seems to be a safe and efficacious therapy alternative to conventional physical exercise. Despite promising and increasing evidence for over two decades of scientific research on this topic, there are no recommendations in recent published guidelines concerning the use of EMS in HF patients.