CHF (Congestive Heart failure) and Cardiomyopathy

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy (deterioration in heart muscles) is commonly caused by coronary vessel disease but can also be due to infection and other causes. In this condition, the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. In its early stages, heart failure may go unnoticed, as the heart muscle compensates by enlarging and thickening so it can beat faster and more strongly. But like any overworked muscle, it can’t keep up indefinitely, and fatigue, shortness of breath, edema (fluid retention), and other symptoms of heart failure become evident. Physicians usually prescribe drugs to reduce the heart’s workload.

CARDIAC CONDITIONS AND ADIPOSE DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS

Adipose derived adult (non-embryonic) mesenchymal stem cells are postulated to have the ability to migrate and be attracted to areas of injury and degeneration and assist in the repair of nerves, blood vessels, muscle, fat, cartilage, bone, and many other structures. These cells are naturally recruited by cytokines (SDF-1 stromal derived factor one, HGF hepatocyte growth factor, and platelets), to sites of inflammation, ischemia, hypoxia, or injury and they assist in the healing process either by directly forming needed cells or secreting chemical messengers that promote healing. Stem cells are mobilized naturally from bone marrow when the body is healing but they are also found in human adipose tissue. These stem cells from fat are abundant in levels of up to a thousand times greater than those found in bone marrow, and have equivalent regeneration potential to the bone marrow cells. The success of stem cell treatments appears to relate to the number of cells, giving adipose cells a significant potential advantage to regenerate human tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells have been used extensively around the world in the successful treatment of orthopedic, cardiac, pulmonary, and neurologic disease in both humans and veterinary models.

The regenerative medicine protocol for Congestive heart failure (CHF) and cardiomyopathy involves the patient’s own adult stem cells. Isolated from a small amount of fat, which is the richest source of stem cells and is obtained during a simple liposuction procedure, these cells are concentrated and infused back into the patient’s body via intravenous infusion.

Not all cases or patients respond to stem cell therapy and outcomes will vary from patient to patient.

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