According to the WHO, cardiovascular disease causes 17.9 million deaths per year.
Researchers at the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria have developed a new treatment that can regenerate heart tissue in patients who have undergone bypass surgery.
Published in European Heart Journal, The research was funded by the VASCage Center for Vascular Aging and Stroke Research with additional grant support from Heart Regeneration Technologies GmBH and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
According to the World Health Organization, heart disease and other cardiovascular complications cause 17.9 million deaths each year.
Current medications and treatments can help manage the disease and reduce the chances of a heart attack. In more severe cases, surgeons may perform heart bypass surgery, transplanting healthy blood vessels from the chest, leg, or arm into the area of the heart above and below the blocked artery.
The new treatment takes just 10 minutes to complete and works to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels around areas that have been damaged or scarred after a heart attack.
Shockwave therapy is already used to treat other conditions such as tendon and ligament injuries, erectile dysfunction, and even to break up kidney stones through lithotripsy.
In the study, about half of the 63 patients undergoing bypass surgery in Austria received ultrasound treatment under general anesthesia.
Results showed that one year after surgery, the amount of oxygenated blood pumped by the heart increased by 11.3% in the shock wave group, compared with 6.3% in the control group.
Additionally, patients in the shock wave group were able to walk farther without taking a break and reported an improved quality of life.
Professor Johannes Holfeld of the Medical University of Innsbruck commented: “This is the first time that heart muscle regeneration has been seen in a clinical setting, which has the potential to help millions of people.”
The researchers plan to explore their “space hairdryer” technology in larger scale tests to determine its long-term effects.
The team further expects that European regulators will approve the device later this year, with the first use in patients outside of clinical trials happening in 2025.
