Appleton resident Donald Krause became the first patient in the country last week to undergo an investigational cell therapy for a debilitating heart condition called chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI)
Myocardial ischemia occurs when blood flow to the heart is reduced, preventing the heart muscle from receiving enough oxygen. The reduced blood flow is usually the result of a partial or complete blockage of the heart’s arteries (coronary arteries). Patients with CMI have frequent chest pain (angina) that is not controlled well by drug therapy and they are not considered suitable candidates for stent placement or bypass surgery, leaving them with limited therapeutic options. It is estimated that between 600,000 and 1.8 million patients in the U.S. suffer from treatment-resistant myocardial ischemia, with approximately 75,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
“Our hope is that the addition of CardiAMP cell therapy to the best therapeutic options currently available for CMI will help improve the quality of life for patients like Mr. Krause and the tens of thousands of other people who are diagnosed each year,” said Raval, who is also the primary investigator for the trial at UW Health. “Patients with CMI are often desperate to find relief after suffering for years with debilitating symptoms, and this therapy, if proven successful during this trial, could become not only the first cell therapy of its kind for heart disease but a real gamechanger for these patients in particular.”
To view the full article click here.