Heart failure, the deterioration of the heart’s ability to pump enough blood often resulting in death, affects 600,000 Canadians. The risk of death within a year after a heart failure diagnosis is 35 per cent. While doctors can implant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to help pump blood, patients with them can face serious complications that often result in death.
However, the MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute in Virginia is currently prepping a clinical trial that will use a stem cell treatment for heart failure to help improve the condition of patients suffering from the ailment, including those with LVADs.
MSCS AND STEM CELL HEART REPAIR
According to MedStar physician Dr. Stephen Epstein, stem cell heart repair is promising because mesenchymal stem cells can combat inflammation common in patients with heart failure.
“If we are successful in showing stem cells improve outcomes in LVAD patients, the results would extend to the general population of heart failure patients and, in the process, fundamentally transform current paradigms for treating heart failure patients,” Epstein said in a press release.
THE POTENTIAL POWER OF STEM CELL TREATMENT FOR HEART DISEASE
MedStar’s stem cell treatment for heart failure is not at the human stages yet, but Epstein says they’ve had great success applying it to mice with heart problems. According to him, the efficacy of their stem cell heart repair using MSCs was “unprecedented,” but there’s always a risk that treatments that work in animal testing don’t carry over to human subjects.
Nonetheless, MedStar’s physicians are confident that if the upcoming clinical trials are successful, stem cell treatment for heart disease could revolutionize longevity and quality of life for those suffering from heart failure. In addition to making the implantation of LVADs a much less risky process, it could also lead to many other forms of stem cell treatment for heart disease.
“This study, if successful, will lead to pivotal trials that, in turn, will have the potential to alter strategies of treating LVAD patients that could markedly improve their symptoms and outcomes,” MedStar heart surgeon Steven Boyce said in the press release.
Even if your heart is intact, RegenerVate can treat chronic chest muscle pain and heal injuries to your chest muscles, such as Musculotendinous tears, using targeted stem cell injections. Our stem cell therapies are non-surgical and normally take an hour or less to complete.
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