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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Can Heart Failure Be Cured? Being the world’s number one killer, heart disease is also a major cause of disability. There are many different types of heart disease, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, congenital heart disease, and congestive heart failure (or simply heart failure). Heart failure develops when the heart has been weakened from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or other conditions. When the heart struggles to pump, it can enlarge and gets weaker. The heart muscle is unable to pump sufficient blood through to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Fluid can then build up around the heart, leaving patients tired and out of breath. Nearly half of patients who develop heart failure die within 5 years of their diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Currently, heart failure has no cure. Heart failure patients have to take medicine and follow a treatment plan for the rest of their life. Even with treatment, symptoms might get worse over time and patients might not be able to do many of the things that they did before they had heart failure. But if they follow all the steps their doctor recommends, they could stay healthier longer. Recently, scientists might discover a way to repair heart failure. A study that was conducted by researchers from Temple University School of Medicine found that paroxetine blocked GRK2 protein in the damaged hearts of laboratory mice. Paroxetine, known to many as Paxil, is an antidepressant that has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
The findings, which were published in journal ‘Science Translational Medicine’ on March 4, 2015, found that paroxetine could improve heart function in laboratory mice and even reverse heart damage more effectively than beta-blockers, the current standard of care for heart failure. Researchers centered their tests on GRK2 protein, which is typically found at elevated levels in failing human hearts. GRK2 plays a major role in causing the heart less able to supply blood to the entire body. Paroxetine was given to the mice that had suffered heart attacks. The damaged heart began to heal itself and continued to improve after paroxetine was stopped. Experiments carried out in the laboratory showed that the benefits had nothing to do with the pills’ effect on the brain chemicals involved in mood. It is the side effect of the drug that blocks GRK2 protein that weakens already-damaged hearts. While the researchers caution there is no guarantee that paroxetine will certainly work on human hearts as well, they suggested that doctors might want to consider prescribing paroxetine for, at least, the heart failure patients who also happen to have clinical depression. If antidepressant is to be given to these patients, why not give them paroxetine that might help improve the heart function. Nevertheless, paroxetine was linked to psychiatric side effects including suicidal thoughts. That is why the researchers are trying to make a version of it that helps the heart without affecting the brain. 5 million people have been diagnosed with heart failure in the United States. A paper published in 2013 in journal ‘Circulation: Heart Failure’ by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine reported that cases of heart failure will spike 46 percent by 2030 to 8 million. They also pointed out that direct and indirect costs to treat heart failure could more than double from $31 billion in 2012 to $70 billion in 2030. It seems that if the incidence of heart failure is not improved or reduced by preventing and treating the underlying condition, there will be a large monetary and health burden on the nation. Perhaps, the best way for prevention is to stay healthy to avoid getting a heart failure. The sooner people start, the better their chances of preventing or delaying the condition. People with a healthy heart should follow a healthy diet, be physically active, quit smoking if they smoke, lose weight if they are obese or overweight, and avoid illegal drugs.
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