Heart disease remains the largest killer around the world and now researchers have found that a protein therapy -- recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-AB (rhPDGF-AB) -- could improve outcomes following heart attack.
After a heart attack, scar tissue forms and this negatively affects heart function, said the study, published in journal Science Translational Medicine.
In the study, researchers showed that infusing rhPDGF into participants that have had heart attacks improves the quality of the scar, leads to the formation of new blood vessels in the heart and reduced rates of dangerous heart arrhythmia (irregularities of heart rhythm that can cause sudden death).
Following heart attack, the heart muscle is damaged, causing thick scar tissue to form. This can limit the heart's ability to function efficiently, and can increase the risk of heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.
Current treatments aim to restore blood and the oxygen supply to the heart as quickly as possible to reduce scarring. While this improves clinical outcomes, up to a quarter of patients experiencing their first heart attack will develop heart failure within one year.
