Delhi, December 23, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): An international research team has discovered that in some people with artificial hearts, the heart muscles can continue to function even after heart failure. Led by a doctor-scientist team at the University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, the study found that a group of patients with artificial hearts were able to reactivate their heart muscles.
This research could open doors for new treatment methods and may someday lead to a cure for heart failure. While there is currently no cure for heart failure, it can be managed with medication. Besides transplants, the only other treatment for heart failure is an artificial heart, which helps pump blood.
Hesham Sadeek, head of the Cardiology Department at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, explained, “Just like muscles in bones regenerate after an injury, heart muscles can also heal if given the right conditions.” However, unlike bone muscles, heart muscle damage does not typically heal on its own.
In a research paper published in the journal Circulation, Sadeek noted that there has been no effective method to repair heart muscle damage. He led international experts to investigate the regeneration of heart muscles.
This project started with tissue from artificial heart patients, supported by Utah Health and the School of Medicine University, and was led by Stavros Drakos, a pioneer in left ventricular assist device-mediated retrieval. The researchers found that patients with artificial hearts regenerate muscle cells at six times the rate of those with healthy hearts. Sadeek stated that this is the strongest evidence yet that human heart muscle cells can indeed regenerate, confirming the potential for regeneration in the human heart.
Summary: Research shows that heart muscles in artificial heart patients can regenerate after heart failure, offering hope for future treatments and possibly curing heart failure.