Heart muscle can undergo Dr Who-style regeneration thanks to shockwave therapy, study finds blood pumped by heart increased by 11 per cent after treatment By Kate Pickles Health Editor Published: 20:32 EDT, 20 June 2024 | Updated: 20:35 EDT, 20 June 2024 e-mail View comments Applying gentle shockwaves could get heart muscle working again following bypass operations, new studies suggest. Doctors in Austria have successfully regenerated cardiac tissue using a device to send mild stimulation shortly after patients had undergone surgery. Tests showed that the treatment helped the heart pump more oxygen around the body.
Meanwhile, patients reported being able to walk further without resting and also said they had a better general quality of life. Heart bypass surgery is a procedure that can help patients whose supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked. It creates a new path for blood to flow around narrowed or clogged parts of the major arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart.
Doctors in Austria have successfully regenerated cardiac tissue using a device to send mild stimulation shortly after patients had undergone surgery (stock image) But this can only preserve heart function, and not improve it. So researchers wanted to assess whether they could help regenerate the damaged heart muscle after bypass surgery. In a trial involving 63 patients, researchers used a machine - dubbed a 'space hairdryer' - to apply mild soundwaves shortly after bypass surger.