How Heart Attack can be treated with stem cell treatment….????
Heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK. Every two minutes someone, somewhere, has a heart attack. Many people can end up with heart failure / a heart attack in which a blockage which prevents blood reaching the muscle and usually leads to a crushing pain in the chest, shortness of breath and dizziness. Most people who suffer a heart attack remain conscious. However many will go on to suffer a cardiac arrest, which is when the heart stops and the person loses consciousness and stops breathing. When a patient reaches Accident and Emergency, they are currently given a treatment called angioplasty to re-open the blocked artery that triggered the problem. Now-a-days, Emergency heart attack patients will be injected with their own stem cells in a dramatic new treatment. The procedure, being pioneered by British doctors, holds out hope of a ‘cure’ as the stem cells repair damaged heart muscles.The low-cost treatment, which involves removing stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow, could be given within a few hours of a heart attack .It is intended to stop patients suffering further attacks and developing heart failure, something existing treatments fail to do in many cases. Researchers have called the project – the first of its kind in the world – “very exciting” and say it could have a significant impact on the annual toll of deaths from heart disease. This boosts survival rates and cuts repeated hospital admissions. But a significant proportion of patients will still be left with damage to their hearts. Two London NHS trusts – University College London Hospital and Barts and the London – are using stem cells to repair the damage immediately after a heart attack. Stem cells are the basic building block cells that can grow and change into different types of tissue. They have been shown to help people who already have heart disease by aiding the regrowth of damaged tissue. Doctors will then monitor the patients over the following months to establish how effective the stem cell treatment has been at preventing heart failure and repairing the damaged organ. The research is being led by Professor John Martin, chair in cardiovascular sciences at the British Heart Foundation, and Dr Anthony Mathur of Barts and the London NHS trust. Professor Martin said : “This is the first time in the world that stem cells have been used to stop the damage of acute heart attack.”It is very exciting. We feel we can make a considerable reduces death rate and suffering from heart failure.”Dr Mathur said: “If we can demonstrate improvement in the quality of life of patients then this will be a significant step forward in the treatment of heart disease,There is also less likelihood of rejection complications.”Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said:’’In the future, stem cells could herald a new frontier for heart patients.”
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
