This is a news item about Smart stem cells regrowing, regenerating cardiac tissue. Now, this has been like the Holy Grail and this looks like we’re just one step closer to getting this taken care of and what does this mean for us? Does this mean that STEMI protocols are going away? Does this mean that we’re going to change the way we deal with cardiac illness? Well, not necessarily but what it does mean is that if our patients can grow back cardiac tissue and regenerate cardiac when they have signs of coronary artery disease and MI that has caused cardiac ischemia in a part of their heart.

If we can aggressively treat those patients, then get them to the appropriate cardiac center. That patient could be down the road when this therapy becomes available in widespread. That patient could regrow that portion of their heart but I think one of the key things that are going to be required from us and from other emergency providers is to be aggressive in our care, in understanding that indeed time is muscle. the more cardiac function we can preserve now, the less recovery time they’re going to have, the more closely they’re going to return to a full function of their cardiac environment and in the cases of the future advances like this stem cell research, when the patients’ own stem cells could be tweaked so that they can provide cardiac regenerative properties and actually regrow ischemic tissue. We have the opportunity to, by preserving as much cardiac function early, we have an opportunity to bring our patients way back from beyond the brink and have just an amazing after event lifestyle and just overall health.

So, I always like looking at these futuristic looks and these new technologies that are out there. Are we going to be doing this in the field? Probably not, I don’t think so any time in the near future unless it becomes something you just inject into them which hey, wouldn’t that be cool? But still, it is important for us to focus on the basics and the basics in cases of cardiac arrest, in cases of acute coronary syndrome is that we have to be aggressive in our treatments. we need to remember that time is muscle, that the more we can do to aggressively treat that patient and rapidly transport then to the appropriate facility, the more cardiac function will be preserved and they will be able to live long enough to take benefit of new treatments like this one. I’m very excited by this.

If you haven’t seen this article or you think something like it, check out the link in the shownotes in this episode and you can follow up on this particular article yourself. I’m very excited by technologies like this and I look forward to hearing back from you. What do you think? Do you think we might someday be doing some kind of a stem cell injection during the midst of a cardiac event so that that regenerative cardiac healing begins almost immediately? There’s your first-line cardiac drug. I mean, that’s pretty amazing. Let me know, I love to hear back from you. Call in on the voicemail line or leave me a message on the email and I’d love to hear from you.

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This article has been featured in the news segment of the MedicCast podcast episode Acetaminophen Review for EMS Providers and Episode 233.