Surviving a heart attack is not the end of the story for most people: for many survivors, tissue in the heart is damaged due to a lack of oxygen during a cardiac event that leads to problems and dangerous complications for the rest of their lives. Sometimes parts of the heart muscle die and damaged tissue is replaced with non-pumping scar tissue, which makes the heart weaker and less effective at putting oxygen into the blood.
When 30 percent or more of the heart muscle in the wall of the left ventricle is damaged after surviving a heart attack, patients likely develop congestive heart failure — a condition that requires medication or cardiac bypass surgery. Left on its own the scar tissue will not heal. And that’s where science comes in.
During the last few years medical research has made leaps and bounds towards finding a solution to repairing scarred heart tissue. Most notably, stem cells taken from a patient’s own heart have proven a promising way to repair the damage.
An even more recent and promising breakthrough is today’s Human Achievement. Hydrogel is an injectable solution made out of cardiac connective tissue that has been cleansed of its heart muscle cells. The solution is freeze-dried and made into a powder that can be injected through a catheter directly into a person’s heart.
The hydrogel is made of cardiac connective tissue. The connective tissue is eliminated of its heart muscle cells through a cleansing process, and then it is freeze-dried and milled into a powder-like material. The powder is then made into a fluid that can be injected directly into the heart tissue.
The researchers from the University of California-San Diego who developed this treatment noted that when it was injected into the hearts of pigs with heart damage, it turned into a semi-solid gel that provided a “scaffold” for new tissue growth and improved the pigs’ condition. And perhaps the best part about Hydrogel is that it can be inserted through a catheter into the heart without surgery.
Christman believes that the liquid could be injected using a catheter, so surgery and general anesthesia would not be required. While other scientists have developed heart-repairing hydrogels before, she notes that those substances would not work with catheters, as they would gel too quickly.
The implications of this new treatment are far-reaching. In the past survivors of heart attacks had to live the rest of their lives with the after effects — Hydrogel could help them truly reclaim their lives and live longer and healthier. Perhaps it will even be used to prevent future cardiac issues in people with undetected scarring of the heart. That’s something worth celebrating!
Kuokoka mshtuko wa moyo sio mwisho wa hadithi kwa watu wengi: kwa wengi wa waokokaji, tishu katika moyo hiharibiwa kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa oksijeni wakati wa tukio la moyo ambalo husababisha matatizo na matatizo hatari kwa maisha yao yote. Wakati mwingine sehemu za misuli ya moyo hufa na tishu iliyoharibiwa inabadilishwa na tishu ya kidonda isiyoweza kusukuma, ambayo hufanya moyo kuwa dhaifu na usio na ufanisi katika kuweka oksijeni katika damu. Wakati asilimia 30 au zaidi ya misuli ya moyo katika ukuta wa ventricle ya kushoto imeharibiwa baada ya kushindwa na mshtuko wa moyo, wagonjwa wanaweza kuambukizwa ugonjwa wa kushindwa kwa moyo - hali ambayo inahitaji dawa au upasuaji wa moyo. Ikiwa itaachwa peke yake, nyuzinyuzi hazitapona. Na hapo ndipo sayansi inapoingia. Katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, utafiti wa kitiba umefanya maendeleo makubwa kuelekea kutafuta suluhisho la kurekebisha tishu za moyo zilizo na makovu. Kwa mfano, chembe za msingi zilizochukuliwa kutoka kwa moyo wa mgonjwa mwenyewe zimethibitika kuwa njia yenye kuahidi ya kurekebisha uharibifu huo. Mafanikio ya wanadamu ya leo ni mafanikio ya hivi karibuni na yenye kuahidi zaidi. Hydrogel ni suluhisho la sindano lililotengenezwa kutoka kwa tishu ya kuunganisha ya moyo ambayo imesafishwa kutoka kwa seli za misuli ya moyo. Suluhisho hilo huyeyushwa na kufanywa kuwa poda ambayo inaweza kutiwa ndani ya moyo wa mtu kupitia kateteri. Hydrogel hiyo imetengenezwa kwa tishu ya kiunganishi ya moyo. Mifupa ya kiunganishi huondolewa kwa chembe za misuli ya moyo kupitia mchakato wa kusafisha, kisha huyeyushwa na kufyonzwa kuwa nyenzo kama poda. Kisha unga huo hutengenezwa kuwa umajimaji ambao unaweza kutiwa moja kwa moja ndani ya tishu ya moyo. Watafiti kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha California-San Diego ambao waliunda matibabu haya waligundua kwamba wakati ilichukuliwa katika mioyo ya nguruwe na uharibifu wa moyo, iligeuka kuwa gel ya nusu-imara ambayo ilitoa "scaffold" kwa ukuaji mpya wa tishu na kuboresha hali ya nguruwe. Sehemu bora ya Hydrogel ni kwamba inaweza kuingizwa ndani ya moyo bila upasuaji. Christman anaamini kwamba kioevu hicho kingeweza kutiwa ndani kwa kutumia catheter, kwa hiyo upasuaji na anesthesia ya jumla haingehitajiwa. Ingawa wanasayansi wengine wametengeneza hydrogels za kurekebisha moyo hapo awali, yeye anasema kwamba vitu hivyo havitafanya kazi na catheters, kwani vitatengeneza gel haraka sana. Matokeo ya matibabu hayo mapya ni makubwa sana. Katika siku za nyuma, watu waliopona mshtuko wa moyo walihitaji kuishi maisha yao yote na athari za baadaye - Hydrogel inaweza kuwasaidia kupata maisha yao tena na kuishi kwa muda mrefu na kwa afya. Labda hata itatumiwa kuzuia matatizo ya moyo ya wakati ujao kwa watu walio na makovu ya moyo yasiyoonekana. Hilo ni jambo linalostahili kusherehekewa!