Patch could give new life to weak heart

A new cardiac patch developed by a collaborative team led by Western University is just the stuff that could get your blood pumping—literally. The ultra-flexible cardiac patch, designed by Western Engineering professor Kibret Mequanint and his collaborators at the University of Manitoba, may one day be used to restore function to a damaged heart following a cardiac arrest.

After a heart attack, and a minimally invasive intervention to restore blood flow to the muscle, the heart is weakened, even after a successful surgery or intervention. Most of the cardiac cells responsible for contracting the heart are dead before the intervention, stopping it from performing its most important task: pumping blood.

The concept of cardiac patches, as a treatment option for heart failure, is not new. What makes the new patch—yet to be tested on a human heart—so special is its method of delivery and its conductivity. The new patch has the shape-shifting ability to be folded and squeezed into a syringe or a commercial catheter, allowing it to be injected and transported on a 'fantastic voyage' to the weakened heart muscle. Upon arrival, the patch 'remembers' its original shape, unfolds and integrates to the heart muscle.

Read more at Medical Xpress

Image Credit: Unsplash

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