Alcohol, it turns out, may be an effective and safe alternative to dangerous and complicated surgical procedures for patients suffering from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. The Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem is pioneering the application of the method in Israel.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is an excessive thickening of the heart muscle, which blocks the flow of blood out of the heart and to the rest of the body. It is thought to be a major cause of sudden heart failure deaths among athletes and young people. The alcohol treatment, developed in England several years ago, has been put into practice at the Bikur Holim hospital in Jerusalem, and involves the injection of alcohol (97%) directly into the blood vessels supplying the engorged area of the muscle. This injection cuts off supply of blood to the specific area affected, thus lessening the blockage of the exit valve of the heart's left ventricle. The alcohol injection has thus far led to improved cardiac performance in 90% of the heart patients so treated, eliminating the need for dangerous surgical alternatives.
Professor Andrei Kern, the chief of cardiology at Bikur Holim and the secretary of the European Federation for the Study of Cardiomyopathy, says that the treatment is not suitable for all those who suffer from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Those who do not qualify, he says, are treated with drugs and/or through implantation of a defibrillator.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is an excessive thickening of the heart muscle, which blocks the flow of blood out of the heart and to the rest of the body. It is thought to be a major cause of sudden heart failure deaths among athletes and young people. The alcohol treatment, developed in England several years ago, has been put into practice at the Bikur Holim hospital in Jerusalem, and involves the injection of alcohol (97%) directly into the blood vessels supplying the engorged area of the muscle. This injection cuts off supply of blood to the specific area affected, thus lessening the blockage of the exit valve of the heart's left ventricle. The alcohol injection has thus far led to improved cardiac performance in 90% of the heart patients so treated, eliminating the need for dangerous surgical alternatives.
Professor Andrei Kern, the chief of cardiology at Bikur Holim and the secretary of the European Federation for the Study of Cardiomyopathy, says that the treatment is not suitable for all those who suffer from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Those who do not qualify, he says, are treated with drugs and/or through implantation of a defibrillator.