New breakthrough: Heart attack can trigger cardiac arrhythmia!

New breakthrough: Heart attack can trigger cardiac arrhythmia!

Freiburg, Deutschland - A heart attack can have far -reaching and serious consequences for the health of the person concerned. One of the most common and dangerous complications is the chamber fibrillation, a life -threatening cardiac arrhythmia. According to a report of the German Heart Foundation , it is crucial that the time is minimized until the reopened of the locked cardiac cavity, as this is crucial for the long-term consequences of the heart attack.

A team of researchers around Prof. Dr. Peter Kohl, director of the Institute for Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine at the Freiburg University Heart Center, has discovered a new connection between these events. They found that the electrical and mechanical relaxation of the heart is disturbed in the event of a heart attack. This can lead to the heart does not fill properly and pumps too little blood. These findings were made in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Alex Quinn from Dalhousie University won. The research team describes this mechanism as a repolarization relaxation coupling, which could explain why mechanically triggered cardiac arrhythmia often occur.

mechanisms and therapeutic approaches

At the molecular level, research shows that the electrical excitement duration is shortened after a heart attack. This shortening means that mechanical processes can no longer take place synchronously and unexpected mechanical loads trigger electrical misfires. Prof. Kohl's team has identified several potential therapeutic starting points that were able to reduce the development of rhythm disorders in laboratory experiments. This includes the blockade of certain ion channels, the buffering of calcium and the reduction of oxygen radicals. Dr. Breanen A. Cameron, the first author of the study, is confident that this knowledge can contribute to the development of new medication that reduce the risk of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias after a heart attack.

The urgency of a rapid medical intervention is underlined by the fact that affected patients who are waiting too long for treatment increase the risk of acute heart failure. Inefficient blood flow can lead to unconsciousness because the brain is not sufficiently supplied. According to the German Heart Foundation, treatment can avert decisive damage to the heart muscle within the first four hours and enable a return to the usual life.

numbers and statistics on cardiac arrhythmia

According to the "German Heart Report 2022", cardiac arrhythmias represent one of the most common causes of death in Germany and are responsible for over 65,000 deaths annually, mostly through sudden cardiac death. The report shows that in 2021 a total of 447,485 fully inpatient recordings for cardiac arrhythmia were registered. The mortality of these disorders also increases continuously, which indicates the need for better recognition and treatment.

The German Heart Foundation and various specialist societies for cardiology are therefore committed to promoting the early detection and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The aim is to prevent avoidable physical and psychological consequences as well as life -threatening complications and to contribute to sustainable the quality of life of the patients concerned.