Treating Heart Disease in Bangkok Heart Hospital

 Since May 2005, Bangkok Heart Hospital has been treating patients using autologous adult stem cell, in other words, stem cells taken from the patient’s own body. Using adult stem cells instead of embryonic cells circumvents moral and technical issues associated with using cells taken from an embryonic source. The procedure has proven to be relatively safe, however, the outcome depends on patient’s initial condition as well as cause of heart problem. Since the cells are not foreign to the patient’s body, there are no immunological concerns. These cells stimulate growth of new vessels and sometimes muscle to improve the heart functions.
Who is suitable for this treatment?
Candidates for stem cell therapy are patients with cardiomyopathy: either ischemic or dilated cardiomyopathy. The treatment is usually performed on patients with an ejection fraction (a measure of heart function) of 35% or lower, and who have significant limitation of physical activity. These patients are comfortable at rest. In these patients, it takes less than ordinary physical activity to cause fatigue, dyspnea, palpitation, or chest pain.

Between May 2005 and November 2009, 125 patients had intramyocardial autologous peripheral blood stem cell injections. Fifty-one patients had dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 74 had ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). The blood stem cells were isolated from the patient’s blood and then cultured. In dilated cardiomyopathy patients, cells were injected into all areas of left ventricle. In ischemic cardiomyopathy patients, the cells were injected into non-viable myocardium and hypokinetic segments. Combined coronary artery surgery and stem cell injection were performed in 33.8% of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Three months after the procedure the patients’ quality of life significantly improved for physical function, role physical, general health and vitality in dilated cardiomyopathy patients. For ischemic cardiomyopathy patients, physical function, role-physical, general heath and social function domains were also improved after the procedure. In addition, myocardial infarction area was reduced. Injection of stem cells taken from the patients’ own body was found to be safe for both conditions, improving quality of life and ejection fraction significantly.