Source: U.S. National Institutes of Health
Apparently stopping death or irreparable damage from a heart attack could be as simple as inflating a blood pressure cuff. This according to a recent Danish (The Country) study.
How does it work and why does no one seem to know about this? Well, it is thought that a brief stoppage of blood flow improves the ability of organs to withstand stress and prevents tissue damage. The admittedly small study of 142 patients rushed to hospital emergency rooms for heart attacks who received this treatment managed to retain 30% more of their heart tissue than those who did not. The cuff was inflated for 4 minutes, relaxed and then inflated again. Repeating this procedure 4 times appears to have done the trick according to the study’s author, Dr. Hans Erik Botker, a professor of cardiology.
Unfortunately it may take some time before the rest of the world adopts the European model of treatment. One group at Emory University in Atlanta is currently attempting similar treatment here in the United States. Dr. Jacob Vinten-Johansen has added the inflation variation with a balloon catheter, slightly more invasive. According to Dr. Vinten-Johansen, “The United States cardiology community is a bit slower to embrace these things and the regulatory situation is better in Europe.”
Regulations here in the States require a consent for what is deemed an “experimental procedure.” Not always something easy to obtain (No, not because of trial lawyers) as patients having heart attacks aren’t necessarily able to provide a consent. Similar techniques are being used to attempt to treat stroke as well.
~Posted by D.M. Schwadron, Esquire