Here is a unique way to shield the heart from damage following a heart attack. Investigators from the University of Leicester claim that simply squeezing an arm guards heart muscle from life-threatening damage after a heart attack. This new technique possibly has important beneficial implications for patients’ long term survival and wellbeing.
The method of conditioning is apparently based on the observation that temporarily stopping the blood supply to a muscle makes it resistant to further damage. But protection from one muscle can be seemingly transferred elsewhere through the blood stream to another. Squeezing an arm for a few minutes safeguards the heart by declining the extent of damage after a heart attack.
“We hope to shed light on this safe and effective therapy helping it to benefit patients. This work, in conjunction with other studies published in the past two years, is creating a compelling argument for the application of this technique to clinical use. I hope that by the end of the decade this simple, cheap, safe and effective tool will be in use across the country,” enlightened Dr Sadat Edroos, a postgraduate researcher from the University’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences.
The research discovery can reportedly limit injury to the heart and thereby reduce the incidence of heart failure. Additional investigations are being conducted to highlight the probable way squeezing an arm protects the heart. This may have great significance in the medical section.
The research was funded by NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Disease.