Cardiomyopathy

INTRODUCTION

Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy is a term used to describe disorders that affect the heart muscle. Cardiomyopathy occurs when your heart is unable to adequately pump blood to the rest of your body.

CARDIOMYPATHY

Cardiomyopathy is a term used to describe disorders that affect the heart muscle. Cardiomyopathy occurs when your heart is unable to adequately pump blood to the rest of your body.

As a result, you may feel tired, short of breath, or have heart palpitations. Cardiomyopathy worsens with time. Treatment can help to decrease the progression of the disease and enhance your quality of life.

Your heart might weaken over time, and cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure. Treatment can be beneficial. Cardiomyopathy patients may eventually require a heart transplant.

SYMPTOMS

There might be no signs or symptoms in the early stages of cardiomyopathy. But as the condition advances, signs and symptoms usually appear, including:

Breathlessness with activity or even at rest
Swelling of the legs, ankles, and feet
Bloating of the abdomen due to fluid buildup
Cough while lying down
Difficulty lying flat to sleep
Fatigue
Heartbeats that feel rapid, pounding, or fluttering
Chest discomfort or pressure
Dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting

Signs and symptoms tend to get worse unless treated. In some people, the condition worsens quickly; in others, it might not worsen for a long time. Signs and symptoms of heart failure usually occur in the later stages of cardiomyopathy, as the heart weakens.

WHAT CAUSE THE DISEASE?

Often the cause of the cardiomyopathy is unknown. In some people, however, it's the result of another condition (acquired) or passed on from a parent (inherited).

Certain health conditions or behaviors that can lead to acquired cardiomyopathy include:

Long-term high blood pressure
Heart tissue damage from a heart attack
Long-term rapid heart rate
Heart valve problems
COVID-19 infection
Certain infections, especially those that cause inflammation of the heart
Metabolic disorders, such as obesity, thyroid disease or diabetes
Lack of essential vitamins or minerals in the diet, such as thiamin (vitamin B-1)
Pregnancy complications
Iron buildup in the heart muscle (hemochromatosis)
The growth of tiny lumps of inflammatory cells (granulomas) in any part of the body, including the heart and lungs (sarcoidosis)
The buildup of abnormal proteins in the organs (amyloidosis)
Connective tissue disorders
Drinking too much alcohol over many years
Use of cocaine, amphetamines or anabolic steroids
Use of some chemotherapy drugs and radiation to treat cancer

CURRENT TREATMENTS

Cardiomyopathy treatment focuses on symptom management. Treatment also decreases the progression of the condition. You will have regular exams to evaluate the health of your heart. Your healthcare provider may recommend:

I) Medications:
Heart medications can improve your blood flow, control symptoms, or treat underlying conditions. You may take blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin®), beta-blockers such as propranolol (Inderal®), or medications to lower cholesterol.

II) Devices to correct arrhythmias:
Pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) treat irregular heart rhythms. These devices monitor your heartbeat. They send electrical impulses to your heart when an arrhythmia starts.

III) Devices to improve blood flow:
Some devices help your heart pump blood more efficiently. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices control the contractions between the left and right sides of the heart. A left ventricular assist device (LVAD) helps your heart pump blood.

IV) Surgery:
If you have severe symptoms or underlying heart conditions, your provider may recommend heart surgery. Providers usually only recommend open-heart surgery or a heart transplant when all other treatments have failed to bring relief.

STEM CELL THERAPY

CELLTIMAX

CelltiMax is Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) derived from human umbilical cords. Upon treatment, the cultured cells are injected intramuscularly / intravenously into the patient.

The cells are characterized by low immunogenicity. Hence, it is very safe, tolerable, and free of side effects. It has the capability to differentiate into specialized cells with specific functions for many parts of the body. They can reduce inflammation, repair, renew, regenerate, and replace damaged cells.

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CRITERIAS FOR STEM CELLS

CRITERIAS	STEM CELLS
Definition	Stem cells are unspecialized cells of the human body
Function	Unique, can become any type of cell, and they act as both building blocks and repair mechanisms in your body
Origins	Donor stem cells are placed in your body and are guided into becoming specific cells in the body to replace and repair diseased cells
Growth Factors	Less amount of growth factors compared to exosomes
Administration	IV Stem Cell Therapy (Intravenous administration) Intrathecal (directly into the spinal canal) Site injections into problem areas (Knee, hips, hands, etc)

BENEFITS OF OUR TREATMENTS?

Stem Cell Therapy

Accelerates healing.

Eliminates pain and inflammation

Avoids the need for surgery

Enhances collagen production

Decrease nerve damage

Less invasive procedure

HOW IT WORKS?

Figure 1 display Mesenchymal stem cell sheet to treatment of ischemic heart disease

Through paracrine effects and immunoregulation functions, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used to improve cardiac function and attenuate adverse ventricular remodelling of the ischemic myocardium. MSCs could be more easily transplanted to the ischemic area if combined with cell sheet technology. Long-term MSC retention in the affected area was achieved, which significantly improved the curative effect. We summarised the research and applications of MSC sheets to the treatment of ischemic heart tissue in this review.

Many types of MSCs, including bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs), umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs), and skeletal myoblasts, are now considered multipotent cells in the treatment of heart failure (SMs). UC-MSC sheets have been proposed as a candidate for clinical applications to ischemic heart disease because they have few human leukocyte antigen-II and major histocompatibility complex class I molecules and are easy to isolate and culture.

TALK TO US

If you feel we might be able to offer meaningful improvement to both your condition and your quality of life, then please reach out to schedule a free consultation with one of our in-house clinical experts. We offer consultations in both Malay and English.