Investigational heart failure therapy seeks to stimulate body’s natural healing response

The University of Minnesota is the first institution in the state to participate in the phase III clinical trial for CardiAmp Therapy. Previous clinical studies of this therapy have been promising and have shown improvements in patients’ quality of life and heart function.

The CardiAMP investigational therapy is a minimally invasive treatment for ischemic heart failure which occurs after a heart attack. The therapy includes a pre-procedure screening test. A small bone marrow sample is taken and screened to identify patients with a higher likelihood of benefitting from the treatment.

If a patient with University of Minnesota Health qualifies for the therapy, additional bone marrow is collected, which is immediately processed to concentrate the cells into the therapeutic dosage. The dose is then delivered through a catheterization procedure directly into the damaged portions of the heart. Therefore, the patient’s own cells are used in a therapy designed to stimulate the body’s natural healing response.

“Treatment of heart failure can be very challenging to the patient as well as for the care providers. CardiAMP is an investigational therapy using patients’ own cell lines to treat the failing heart muscle,” said Ganesh Raveendran, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, University of Minnesota Medical School. “This therapy, if proven to be successful, could complement the current treatment modalities available to the patient and eventually reduce the need for LVAD therapy and heart transplantation.”

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