Yorkshire research could help to transform lives of heart patients
NEW RESEARCH into how to repair the damage caused by a heart attack could transform the lives of thousands of people with cardiac problems.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) on a study into how to regrow blood vessels using stem cells.
BHF provided £97,000 for the project, which Dr Andrew Smith and colleagues hope will boost understanding of how endogenous cardiac stem cells (ECSCs) work.
It follows previous stem cell research which focused on attempts to regrow damaged heart muscle.
Dr Smith said: “In this project we’re trying to learn if this loss of heart muscle can be prevented by triggering the growth of new blood vessels.
“This would increase blood flow, keep more tissue healthy, and enable the heart to work better.
“Whilst this would not reverse heart failure, it could improve the quality of life of people who’ve had a heart attack.”
More than 450,000 people in England have been diagnosed with heart failure.
It is hoped the research will lead to new treatments which limit the long-term damage caused following a heart attack.
Leeds General Infirmary cardiac patient Dave Young, who was just 29 when he had a heart attack, said: “When I had my heart attack in 1987, only 16 per cent of people who suffered heart attacks survived so I was very lucky.
“It wasn’t until quite a few years later that I discovered the lasting damage it had done to my heart.
“I am seen by a great team at LGI and I am now on medication that seems to have kept my heart rhythm much better controlled, but it has been a really difficult few years and I wouldn’t wish my condition on anyone.
“BHF is working with some amazing researchers at Leeds and I hope that others like myself will have a better chance of a normal life with the new discoveries that they are making.”