A new study shows that the right therapy can help the human heart heal after heart failure. This therapy may make the heart work even better than a healthy heart.
Researchers want to create treatments that help damaged hearts recover faster. They do not yet know why this faster healing happens.
Olaf Bergmann, a scientist from Sweden, said, “There may be a hidden key to start the heart’s repair system.”
In the study, 52 patients with heart failure were observed. Some patients received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). This device helps the heart pump blood.
Usually, patients keep the LVAD for life or until they get a heart transplant. Some patients improve so much that they can remove the LVAD.
The researchers studied how heart cells called cardiomyocytes grow back. They found that with the LVAD, these cells grow back much faster than in a healthy heart.
This finding gives hope that we can help hearts recover better after problems.
The research was published in the journal Circulation.
Vocabulary List:
- Therapy /ˈθɛrəpi/ (noun): Treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder.
- Recover /rɪˈkʌvər/ (verb): To return to a normal state of health mind or strength.
- Healing /ˈhiːlɪŋ/ (noun): The process of making or becoming sound or healthy again.
- Transplant /ˈtræn splænt/ (noun): An operation in which an organ taken from one body is placed in another.
- Device /dɪˈvaɪs/ (noun): A piece of equipment or a mechanism designed to serve a special purpose.
- Cardiomyocytes /ˌkɑrdioʊˈmaɪəˌsaɪts/ (noun): Heart muscle cells that are responsible for the contraction of the heart.
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