Heart Attack Treatment: Drug May Help Control Damage to the Heart

A study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found that transplant drugs can prevent further damage to the heart after an attack.

According to Drug, Discovery, & Development, a transplant drug has the ability to temporarily restrain part of a person's immune system, so that the body does not reject the new organ.

A study conducted by researchers at Newcastle University in the UK has found that muting the immune system is also beneficial for people right after a heart attack, since it can prevent further damage to the organ.

Web MD explains that a heart attack occurs when not enough oxygen-rich blood travels to the heart. Plaques, created by a build up of fatty matter, calcium, proteins and inflammatory cells, can make it difficult for blood to flow to the heart.

Blood clots can also form due to plaque build up, blocking the artery entirely and preventing blood flow, causing a major heart attack.

Researchers believe that a certain type of white blood cells, known as T-lymphocytes, can cause further damage to the heart during and after a heart attack, reports Tech Times.

Researchers analyzed over 1,000 people for a three-year study. The participants were observed after having a heart attack. They found that patients treated for artery blockage lost more lymphocytes in their blood and were five times more likely to die.

The researchers concluded that the lost lymphocytes could build up in the lining of the blood vessel walls, affecting the flow of blood to the heart.

UPI explains that T-lymphocites release certain chemicals into the heart, which are supposed to prevent infections, but end up damaging the organ even further.

Ioakim Spyridopoulos, Professor of cardiovascular gerontology from Newcastle University, said during a press release: "Our research investigates exactly how we can target heart damage after a heart attack, and suggests drugs that could help."

The Newcastle researchers concluded that since transplant drugs have the ability to temporarily suppress the immune system, they can also prevent T-lymphocytes from damaging the heart right after a heart attack.

"The beauty of this research is that we have used our new understanding of what happens inside the heart to help identify a potential drug that is already in use. If successful, heart attack patients could see the benefit of the study within a few years," said Professor Spyridopoulos.

The British Heart Foundation and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre funded the study, states DDD magazine.