Drug injection could limit heart attack damage
Hydrogel treatment might minimize heart failure risk in survivors, pig study finds
By Nathan Seppa
People who survive a heart attack are often left with damage to the heart muscle and an increased risk of heart failure. Injections delivered directly into the heart after a heart attack may limit this damage, a test in pigs shows.
A heart attack typically occurs when a blood clot shuts off the flow of blood and oxygen to a section of the heart muscle. When the flow is restored, enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases become overactive, causing scarring that compromises the heart’s pumping ability and increases the risk of heart failure, the heart’s inability to keep up with its workload.