A new study conducted by researchers from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College in London found that the effects of heart failure on heart muscle cells may be reversible.
Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is too weak or stiff to pump out blood, which can lead to a heart attack. These patients are sometimes fitted with a left ventricle assist device (LVAD) to help the heart rest. The researchers have been looking at various ways to help the heart rest without the LVAD procedure. After studying heart transplants in rats, they discovered that after letting the heart rest without an LVAD, the heart muscle cells were able to repair themselves.
Even though there is more research to be done, this could lead to new treatment strategies for those who suffer from heart failure.
“This is the first demonstration that this important form of remodelling of heart muscle cells induced by heart failure is reversible,” said Michael Ibrahim, who conducted the research for his PhD funded by the British Heart Foundation. “If we can discover the molecular mechanisms for these changes, it might be possible to induce recovery without a serious procedure like having an LVAD implanted.”
Those who serve as a caregiver to an aging loved one may want to keep this in mind even though there needs to be more research conducted to prove these findings. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5.8 million people in the U.S. suffer from heart failure, and approximately 670,000 are diagnosed with it each year.
