Enlarged Hearts Reduced in Size by Stem Cell Treatment

Heart enlargement may result from a heart attack, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, heart valve disease, and/or high blood pressure as the heart muscle thickens, often to try to compensate for poor function. Over 5million Americans have an enlarged heart due to a prior heart attack and most rely on chronic medications or are waiting for a heart transplant to become available. Without treatment many are at risk of an early death, with serious disability prior to that due to poor systemic circulation, higher risk of further heart attack, pulmonary complications, and lower quality of life.

Stem Cells Injections Improve Heart Function

Stem cell treatments for heart enlargement are now a step closer, after a study published in Circulation Research revealed that stem cells injected into enlarged hearts reduced heart size, improved function, and reduced scar tissue. The stem cells were sourced from the patients’ own bone marrow and then injected into their hearts where signs of improved function were observed initially, followed by a reduction in the size of the heart and scar size. Eight men took part in the study and an average heart size reduction of 15-20% was experienced, which is significant in comparison to conventional treatments which often only achieve a 5-7% reduction in size. The researchers observed scar reduction of 18.3% on average and noted improvements in contraction and function of the specific heart areas that had suffered damage in the patients’ previous heart attacks.

Stem Cell Therapy for Old Heart Injuries

One particularly exciting aspect of this new study is that the patients were not recruited immediately after a heart attack, as with some other stem cell trials, but instead had older cardiac injuries, some injuries dating back eleven years. Mesenchymal stem cells and mononuclear cells were used successfully in the study although too few patients were enrolled to observe any significant differences between the two. The researchers reported no adverse effects and all patients appeared to benefit from the treatment in terms of improved cardiac function. The lead researcher, Hare, highlighted the different assessment method used by his team in contrast to previous animal studies and preliminary studies on human patients where results measuring ejection fraction do not appear to reliably translate. Instead of looking at improvements in ejection fraction (the amount of blood the heart can pump), Hare’s team assessed improvements in contractility, scar size, and structural changes.

Early Heart Disease Treatment with Stem Cells

The positive results of the stem cell treatments for enlarged hearts are being cautiously represented by the researchers as the treatment is still very much experimental and requires further study. They are hopeful that patients’ quality of life can improve with stem cell therapy due to better cardiovascular functioning and a more normal heart size. It may be that earlier intervention for those experiencing a heart attack could improve their prognosis even further and avoid heart enlargement altogether.

Read More –> Endothelial Progenitor (Circulatory) Cells in Heart Disease
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