Researchers in the USA have successfully treated heart failure in animals using a technique that focuses on the adrenal gland instead of directly on the heart.

The team says that the results could lead to the development of new treatments for people with heart failure, whose hearts are not able to pump blood efficiently around the body.

In people with heart failure, the body tries to compensate for a weakened heart by releasing increasing amounts of stimulants called catecholamines from the adrenal gland. However, this can put even more strain on the heart, by forcing it to work harder.

Current treatments for heart failure, called beta blockers, are designed to prevent these stimulants from reaching the heart by blocking 'beta' receptors on the heart's surface. However, these drugs do not prevent the adrenal gland from releasing stimulants.

Dr Walter Koch, from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his team therefore conducted a study to see whether they could prevent the release of these stimulants by the adrenal gland.

In animal tests, they found that using gene therapy to inhibit the action of an important enzyme prevented the production of stimulants by the adrenal gland and reduced the strain on the heart.

"If less catecholamine is presented to the heart…the heart is allowed to relax and get better," explained Dr Koch.

He added that the results could lead to the development of new drugs for people with heart failure.

Commenting on the findings in an accompanying article, Dr Stephen Liggett, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, said: "The emphasis has always been in treating right at the heart.

"These results add a completely new dimension to the way physicians might be able to intervene to improve heart failure therapy."

The research appears in an advance online publication by the journal Nature Medicine.