Stem cell therapy may help reduce heart failure after a heart attack

Patients with weak heart function who receive stem cell therapy shortly after a heart attack are less likely to suffer heart failure according to a studyHeart failure can occur after a heart attack when the heart muscle is extensively damaged weakening its ability to pump blood effectivelyThis can be a sudden complication acute heart failure or a longterm one Symptoms include trouble breathing fatigue swelling in the legs and an irregular heartbeatThe clinical trial published by the BMJ suggests stem cell therapy may be a valuable addon procedure for this particular group of patients after a heart attack to prevent subsequent heart failure and reduce the risk of future adverse eventsAn international team of researchers including those from Queen Mary University of London in the UK set out to assess the impact of delivering stem cells directly into coronary arteries known as intracoronary infusion after a heart attack on the development of heart failure over three yearsldquoThe results suggest that this technique may serve as a valuable adjunctive procedure after myocardial infarction to prevent the development of heart failure and reduce the risk of future adverse events the team saidThe trial included 396 patients average age 5759 years with no previous heart conditions at three teaching hospitals in Iran They had all experienced a first heart attack myocardial infarctionOf these 136 patients in the intervention group received an intracoronary infusion of allogenic Whartons jellyderived mesenchymal stem cells within 37 days of their heart attack in addition to standard careThe remaining 260 control group patients received standard care aloneCompared with the control group intracoronary infusion of stem cells was associated with reduced rates of heart failure 277 vs 648 per 100 person years readmission to hospital for heart failure 092 vs 420 per 100 person years and a combined measure of cardiovascular death and readmission for heart attack or heart failure 28 vs 716 per 100 person yearsThe intervention did not have a statistically significant effect on readmission to the hospital for heart attack or death from cardiovascular diseaseHowever by six months heart function in the intervention group showed a significantly greater improvement compared with the control group said the researcher while also urging the need for additional trials confirming the findingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever