The intensification of heat waves is one the most certain and, at the same time, most impact-relevant consequences of anthropogenic climate warming. However, an accurate assessment of the magnitude of this intensification has to take into account potential changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns associated with heat waves. We use a combination of Eulerian circulation feature analyses and Lagrangian, trajectory-based diagnostics to investigate future changes in heat waves as simulated by climate models from a dynamical perspective.