Treatment for Chronic Heart Failure
Chronic heart failure is the most rapidly growing of all the cardiovascular disorders,
affecting over 5 million people in the United States alone, with new cases numbering
more than 500,000 each year.
- In the United States, chronic heart failure (CHF) is the number one cause of hospitalization
and death in persons over the age of 65.
- Last year; an estimated 785,000 people in the US. had a heart attack and studies
indicate more than half will have a recurrent attack.
- Nearly one American dies every minute from a coronary event
- The American Heart Association estimates the total cost of heart failure treatment
in the U.S. at $22.5 billion
Adult Stem Cell Therapy Brings Hope to Stage IV CHF Patients
Since the human heart does not have the ability to repair itself once it is damaged,
stem cell therapies offer real hope to patients with damaged hearts - a large group,
given that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
 In
May 2010, Bioheart, Inc. completed a groundbreaking stem cell therapy treatment
at its first of four Latin American Center of Excellence facilities, Hospital Angeles
Tijuana. The therapy employed stem cells derived from the patient's own fat
(adipose tissue) obtained using liposuction. Stem cells were separated from
the adipose tissue utilizing the fully-automated TGI 1200 Cell Isolation System.
The separation process takes about an hour. No tissue pre-processing is required
with this system.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Juan Parcero at Hospital Angeles, and involved
the direct application of adipose-derived stem cells through specialized injection
catheter. Dr. Warren Sherman of the Columbia University Medical Center Stem
Cell Research Institute was present at the procedures and assisted with the technology
transfer. He, along with Dr. Christopher O'Conner, and Dr. Thomas Povsic,
MD, PhD, of Duke University's Clinical Research Institute, have, with Bioheart,
established an Academic Advisory Committee to monitor Bioheart's Centers of
Excellence and gather data on the results seen by each Center. These results
will, over time, become a compendium and form a nexus for future cell therapy research.
The BioHeart Stem Cell Center of Excellence offers patients diagnosed with Stage
II-IV CHF the new Bioheart Myocell™ SDF-1 therapy. This therapy utilizes genetically
modified myoblasts harvested and expanded from the patient’s own muscle. Myoblasts
have been tested successfully on over 235 patients in four clinical trials.
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