Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
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Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
FAQs Understanding A-Fib: Stem Cells
“I’ve read about stem cells research to regenerate damaged heart tissue. Could this help cure A-Fib patients?”
Yes, this fascinating research, though not directed specifically to Atrial Fibrillation, may prove to be very important to A-Fib patients. These groundbreaking studies focus on using stem cells to regenerate damaged heart tissue.
Working with heart attack victims who had suffered major heart scarring, doctors infused into their damaged hearts, stem cells that had been harvested and grown from their own heart.
The results were astounding!
Scar tissue decreased—shrinking between 30% to 47%. New heart tissue was generated—the stem cell recipients grew the equivalent of 600 million new heart cells. Their ejection fraction increased from the low 30% range to almost normal. Patients who received these stem cells had significant improvements in heart function, physical capacity, and scored better on quality-of-life questionnaires. MRI and ultrasound imaging revealed that areas where stem cells were infused showed major improvement which continued for over a year.
Their heart damage was reversed without dangerous side effects.
What does this mean to A-Fib patients? For someone with Atrial Fibrillation, the research studies’ terms of ‘scar tissue’ and ‘heart damage’ translates to ‘fibrosis’, that is, tissue that becomes fibrous and inflexible. Fibrosis in A-Fib patients is linked to enlargement of the heart and the increased threat of stroke.
if injected stem cells can somehow signal the heart to repair itself, this may turn the A-Fib patient’s fibrosis and scarring back into normal heart muscle. The fibrosis and scarring associated with A-Fib would no longer be permanent and irreversible.
Maybe someday we could be cured of A-Fib through stem cell infusion rather than with ablation burns or surgery.
For more read my article: “Stem Cells Reverse Heart Damage—May Repair Fibrosis and Scarring in A-Fib”, and my reports: 2013 BAFS: A-Fib Produces Fibrosis—Experimental and Real-World Data, and BAFS 2014: High Fibrosis at Greater Risk of Stroke and Precludes Catheter Ablation: Lessons Learned from the DECAAF Trial.
Go back to FAQ Understanding A-Fib
Last updated: June 18, 2018
