Heart attack, also known as “myocardial infarction” in medical terms, commonly occurs when the blood flow towards the heart stops due to blockage in the arteries. The blockage in the heart arteries is mostly due to the buildup of cholesterol, fat, and other similar substances which combine to form plaque. The plaque starts depositing in the coronary arteries and hinders the smooth flow of blood. In later stages, the plaque starts to rupture or turn into a clot which completely blocks the blood supply to the heart. The interruption in blood flow causes depletion of oxygen and nutrients to the cardiac cells and may result in the damaging of the heart muscles which ultimately causes a heart attack. There are drastic advancements happening globally to achieve better treatments for heart attacks and to increase the survivability of the affected people.
As heart attack is a medical emergency, it requires immediate and effective treatment for the patient to increase the chances of survival and limit the extent of damage due to interrupted blood supply. With the advancement in the treatment options for heart attack patients, there are a variety of medical treatments, therapies, and surgical interventions available. The first procedure is to quickly restore the blood flow to prevent heart damage by using medications like aspirin, antiplatelet agents, pain-relievers, thrombolytics, and other blood-thinning medications. In addition to medications, surgical procedures can be used to remove the blockage in the arteries and also repair the damage of heart tissues. Some of key surgical procedures include coronary artery bypass surgery and coronary angioplasty or stenting.
Use Of Stem Cell Therapy To Reduce The Risk Of A Heart Attack
Stem cell therapy is an advanced treatment option to cure the heart tissues from the damage of heart attack. Compared to medications and surgical interventions, this therapy helps restore the normal function of heart tissues. It involves the use of mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs thatnare either derived from bone marrow or umbilical cord. The stem cells are injected into distant veins or arteries and they later travel to the site of damaged heart muscles and fuels the repair process. The stem cells are undifferentiated cell types with a huge potential to grow into heart cell types which will repair and regenerate the damage from heart attack. The recent stem cell
therapy trials on heart attack patients revealed that the infusion of stem cells shrinks the amount of scar tissues by almost 50%.
The procedure is advanced and quite new for total application in all the patients, but studies and clinical trials have shown promising results. There is also a possibility that stem cell therapy does not show any improvement in heart function – but most of the patients have shown dramatic improvements. The approach of harvesting and implying the stem cells for heart attack patients produces varied outcomes. The surgeons are working more on the harvesting of stem cells from the patient’s heart tissues or from a matching donor’s bone marrow.
If you are considering stem cell therapy to treat and repair the damage to heart muscles, then you must visit our stem cell transplant institute in Costa Rica. We offer safe and cost effective stem cell therapy for remodeling of damaged heart tissues and treatment of several cardiac conditions – including heart attack, mitral valve stenosis, and low ejection fraction. We are a leading Stem Cells Transplant Institute in Costa Rica with a team of dedicated and board-certified doctors that provide assistance to ease the symptoms of heart attack, repair damage, restore cardiac function and give you the best possible treatment.
