BODY : FITNESS & EXERCISE ASSIST FROM BACK MUSCLE MAY BECOME HEART TREATMENT.Byline: Peter Modica Modica (mô`dēkä), city (1991 pop. 50,529), SE Sicily, Italy. It is the center of an agricultural region where livestock is raised. Known in ancient times as Motyca, it was a feudal county in the 12th cent. Medical Tribune News Service A procedure that involves wrapping a back muscle around a weak heart to assist its pumping action may one day be an alternative to transplantation in people with chronic heart failure, results of a new study suggest. In eight centers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Canada and Brazil, researchers performed the procedure - known as dynamic cardiomyoplasty dynamic cardiomyoplasty Heart surgery A technique for treating moderately severe–NYHA class III heart failure in which a skeletal muscle, often the latissimus dorsi, is transplanted from its usual insertions in the proximal humerus to the chest wall and - on 68 people with moderate heart failure. Nearly 70 percent survived one year after the operation. Those who survived had fewer symptoms of heart trouble, such as shortness of breath Shortness of Breath Definition Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a feeling of difficult or labored breathing that is out of proportion to the patient's level of physical activity. and nausea, and improved heart function, the researchers reported in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to educate, research and influence health care public policy. The president for the 2006–2007 year is Steven E. Nissen. [1] The organization has 39 chapters in the U.S. . Heart failure is a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the needs of body tissues. Dynamic cardiomyoplasty involves wrapping a muscle removed from the left back around the lower, pumping chamber of the heart. The muscle is then electrically stimulated by a pacemakerlike implant so it can assist the pumping action of the failing heart. Each year, about 400,000 people in the United States are added to the population of 2.3 million people already diagnosed with heart failure, but just 2,300 heart transplants are performed annually in the U.S., the researchers noted. Most of the remaining patients are treated with medical therapy, they said. Cardiomyoplasty was first performed in 1985, and has been used in more than 600 people worldwide. The new study is the first multicenter trial A multicenter research trial is a clinical trial conducted at more than one medical center or clinic. Most large clinical trials, particularly Phase III trials, are conducted at several clinical research centers. , according to the researchers. The procedure ``holds promise,'' said study author Dr. Mariell Jessup of the Philadelphia Heart Institute. ``Some patients do extremely well,'' she said. ``It's promising, especially for people who aren't transplant candidates.'' |
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