“Gentle shockwaves could regenerate the heart tissue of patients after bypass surgery, research suggests…
The procedure, which takes about 10 minutes, is designed to stimulate the growth of new vessels around the area damaged or scarred after a heart attack.
A similar ‘shockwave’ technique is already used to treat other conditions such as injured tendons and ligaments, and erectile disfunction.
Higher-strength waves or pulses are also used in lithotripsy, a common medical procedure to break up kidney stones.
Half of the bypass patients in the study, published in the European Heart Journal, were treated with soundwaves under general anaesthetic, while the others received a fake – or sham – procedure.
A year after their surgery, the amount of oxygenated blood pumped by the heart had increased by:
- 11.3% in the shockwave group
- 6.3% in the control group
The shockwave patients could also walk further without resting and reported a higher quality of life.”
From BBC.