New drug could protect from tissue damage following heart attack

Scientists led by the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have developed a new drug that could help reduce the tissue damage that occurs following a heart attack, stroke or major surgery. By preserving more of the healthy heart tissue, we hope that we can give people who survive a heart attack an improved quality of life - Dr Thomas Krieg from the University of Cambridge, a co-author of the study Tests in mice have shown that the compound, called MitoSNO, protects heart tissue from reperfusion injury, which occurs when blood flow is restored suddenly after a prolonged period without oxygen. The research was published . All of the 100,000 people a year in the UK who suffer a heart attack will experience reperfusion injury. During a heart attack, the major vessels that supply the heart with blood become blocked, preventing oxygen from reaching an area of the heart tissue. When the patient reaches hospital, doctors remove the blockage using medicines or surgery and restore blood flow to the heart. By this stage, some damage will already have occurred to the oxygen-starved tissue.