Shockwave therapy with simultaneous bypass surgery can revive inactive heart muscle cells, form new blood vessels, and significantly improve the heart’s pumping performance.
This results from many years of research at the University Clinic for Cardiac Surgery at the Medical University of Innsbruck and has been hailed ‘a historic moment in medicine’ by its lead author.
The shockwave device developed in Innsbruck and dubbed a ‘space hairdryer’ due to its appearance is expected to come onto the market in early 2025.
In a new study published in the European Heart Journal, the team behind the innovative approach reveals how gentle shockwaves can ‘regenerate’ heart tissue in patients undergoing bypass surgery.
The novel therapy involves emitting gentle soundwaves to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels in damaged or scarred heart tissue.
The CAST-HF trial was conducted in Austria on 63 patients and revealed it significantly enhances myocardial function in those suffering from ischaemic heart failure.
In a LinkedIn post, lead author Professor Johannes Holfeld from Innsbruck Medical University wrote: ‘Heart regeneration becomes reality! It is a pleasure to announce that the results of the CAST-HF trial have been published today in the European Heart Journal.
‘A great team effort over many years has made it possible to develop cardiac shockwave therapy from basic research to clinical application. I am deeply grateful to all my colleagues and collaborators. We have the impression that, for the first time, regeneration of the failing myocardium could enter clinical routine. A historic moment in medicine!’
The senior consultant at the University Clinic of Cardiac Surgery Innsbruck and co-founder of Heart Regeneration Technologies GmbH added: ‘We know that every five percentage points improvement in pumping performance leads to a significant reduction in hospital readmissions and an extension of life expectancy. Our method has shown an average improvement of almost twelve percentage points. That is spectacular.’
The trial revealed that patients treated with shockwave therapy post-bypass surgery showed remarkable improvements in their ability to walk longer distances and their hearts’ blood-pumping efficiency.
A year after receiving the treatment, these patients demonstrated better clinical outcomes than those who did not undergo the therapy.
The study found that the amount of oxygenated blood pumped by the heart increased by 11.3% in the shockwave-treated group, compared to a 6.3% increase in the control group. Additionally, patients reported a significant enhancement in their quality of life, with increased mobility and reduced symptoms.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, claiming approximately 18 million lives annually.
Researchers are planning larger trials to validate these promising results.
The authors concluded: ‘We found that direct cardiac SWT in addition to CABG surgery in patients with ischaemic heart failure resulted in a significant improvement of LVEF at 12 months after the intervention compared to patients undergoing CABG surgery and sham treatment. Direct cardiac SWT was associated with improvements in the physical capacity of patients. The treatment was both feasible and safe. The results of the CAST-HF trial suggest that this treatment strategy could contribute to solving the unmet clinical need for myocardial regeneration in patients suffering from ischaemic heart failure.
‘Further trials with larger sample sizes in this patient population are therefore warranted to evaluate whether the beneficial effects of direct cardiac SWT on myocardial function translate into better clinical outcomes, as suggested by the current trial.’
Photo caption - Johannes Holfeld (right) holds the shock wave device in his hand during a bypass operation. (Photo: University Clinic for Cardiac Surgery/MUI)
