Each year in the United States, up to 700,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed, according to the Heart Failure Society of America, and more than 5 million people are affected nationwide. Mary Beth Corgan, a nurse practitioner at SoutheastHEALTH's Heart Failure Clinic, says the reasons for the illness vary, from patients having heart valve or coronary artery diseases to hypertension, viral infections or complications from drug or alcohol addictions. Once upon a time, many patients with heart failure only had a life expectancy of about five years.

In most instances, that's really not the case anymore.

"It all depends. If they watch their diet and watch their fluids and take their medication, people are living longer," Corgan says. Professionals like Corgan are helping boost the odds with new technologies and treatments. One of them is called the CardioMEMS HF System, which measures and monitors pulmonary artery pressure and heart rate.

Data from the system are transmitted from a patient's home, enabling them to stay out of the hospital while doctors monitor their progress remotely. The system uses an implantable sensor Corgan says is about the size of a dime, plus a pillow that's outfitted to read the data being relayed wirelessly by the sensor, which is placed permanently in a patient's coronary artery. Each day, the patient lies on the pillow and its antenna apparatus tells doctors what's going on inside the person's body.

"It's patient specific," Corgan says. "It's calibrated to them."

New advances in medication also are helping heart failure patients live longer and manage their diseases better.

One drug being used by the Heart Failure Clinic is called Entresto. It helps regulate blood pressure and remove any fluids that build up in the body when patients are suffering from congestive heart failure.

Another new drug the clinic uses is Corlanor, which regulates a patient's heart rate.

Dr. Steve Joggert, a cardiologist at Saint Francis Medical Center, says heart failure is common in people ages 65 and older, with congestive heart failure being the third most common reason for hospital admission behind giving birth and pneumonia.

But he agrees that advances in technology and medication have made great strides in helping patients prolong their lives, and their quality of life.

"As the condition is common, there has been and continues to be extensive research into the treatment of heart failure," he says. "This has resulted in multiple medications that have been shown to reduce mortality and heart failure admissions. In addition to this, we have newer devices used to monitor and treat heart failure."

Other improvements have come in the form of heart failure clinics themselves, and making sure patients adopt healthier behaviors when it comes to their diet and weight.

Although the prognosis varies with every person, getting regular care is paramount, he says.

"Outlook varies depending on the patient, severity and causes of the heart failure," Joggert says. "Importantly in many cases, the outlook can be improved with ongoing care by a specialist."