Arm-squeezing to boost heart care?
Wednesday June 8th, 2011
British researchers are testing a simple new procedure to improve the prospects of heart attack victims.
Dr
Sadat Edroos, of Leicester University, UK, hopes to demonstrate whether
arm-squeezing can protect the heart from damage during an attack.
It is hoped it will be shown to reduce damage to the heart by as much as 25 per cent.
Dr Edroos, who is to carry out laboratory research, says the treatment may have wider benefits in helping people developing heart disease through diabetes or high cholesterol levels.
The technique is based on the idea that temporarily stopping the blood supply to a muscle creates resistance to damage - and that this can be transferred from one muscle to another, such as the heart, through the blood.
Dr Edroos said: "We hope to shed light on this safe and effective therapy helping it to benefit patients."
He added: "This work, in conjunction with other studies published in the past two years, is creating a compelling argument for the application of this technique to clinical use.
"I hope that by the end of the decade this simple, cheap, safe and effective tool will be in use across the country."
His supervisor Dr Glenn Rodrigo said: "Dr Edroos' study will integrate this laboratory-based research with the substantial clinical research carried out at the Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit at Glenfield General Hospital, to develop a strategy for protecting the muscle of the heart in patients during a heart attack.
"This has the potential to limit injury to the heart, thereby reducing the incidence of heart failure, a major cause of morbidity and death in the UK."
Tags: A&E | Heart Health | UK News
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