Cold to form the heart

2002/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

In January, cryoplasty was presented better than angioplasty at the symposium on vascular therapies held in Miami. Angioplasty is a common technique for the formation of blocked arteries in the heart. The catheter with a small pump at the end is carried to the blocked artery, swells, and the blockage is extended.

Cryoplasty is done in the same way, but to blow the pump the saline solution is replaced by nitrous oxide (NO). Nitrous oxide reduces the temperature of the layer that obstructs the artery to -10 ° C and causes cellular apoptosis, scheduled suicide. The technique has been developed at El Camino hospital in California, and according to them the damage is less than angioplasty. Angioplasty usually leaves scars on the arteries and causes inflammation.

As a result, a reobstruction of the arteries often occurs, requiring a second cut. With cryoplasty the walls of the artery suffer less and there is more chance of avoiding side effects. In Europe and South America it has been tested in the arteries of the legs and, in view of the good results, clinical sessions have begun in the arteries of the heart.