Treating Congenital Heart Failure with Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

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Congenital heart disease is a term that describes when a person has one or more problems with their heart structure that they have had since birth. These diseases cause issues with the way the blood flows through the heart, which can lead to severe complications. In some cases, congenital heart diseases can be mild. However, some complex defects can become life-threatening.

Congenital heart failure is a condition that describes the end result when the birth defect ultimately causes a problem within the heart. This occurs when a person’s heart fails to adequately pump blood to the body. As a result, the patient will experience insufficient blood flow throughout the body which leads to permanent damage and death.

In this situation, the heart sends more blood to the lungs than it is supposed to. This can result in pressure building up and will eventually weaken the heart muscle and cause it to fail.

How Many People Have Congenital Heart Failure?

Statistics show that approximately 2.4 million people in America currently live with congenital heart disease. On a global scale, the numbers are closer to 12 million. Since 1990, the number of people who suffer from congenital heart disease has increased by approximately 18.7%. Millions of people across the world suffer complications from congenital heart diseases that lead to failure.

What are the Symptoms of Congenital Heart Failure?

When the heart fails to function as it normally should, it causes a wide array of symptoms. In most cases, patients will experience a shortness of breath when they are lying down or when they are performing activities. In addition, patients may feel fatigue or experience weakness. Other signs and symptoms of heart failure include:

Swelling in the ankles, feet, and legs
Nausea and lack of appetite
Chest pain if heart failure is caused by a heart attack
Difficulty concentrating or decreased alertness
Problems exercising
Coughing or wheezing that persists
Rapid or irregular heartbeat
Very rapid weight gain from fluid buildup
Swelling of the stomach or abdomen

Any of these symptoms can be incredibly debilitating. Patients who suffer from congenital heart failure may receive various forms of treatment. However, there is currently no cure for this condition.

What Treatment Options are Available for Congenital Heart Failure?

Patients who suffer from congenital heart failure are often prescribed various forms of medication to provide them with some relief of their symptoms. Commonly prescribed medications that patients receive include:

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors: These medications work by relaxing the blood vessels, which in turn reduces the strain placed on the heart, improves blood flow, and lowers blood pressure.
Angiotensin II receptor blockers: These medications provide much of the same benefits as ACE inhibitors do.
Beta-blockers: These medications will make your heart beat more slowly and will lower your blood pressure. Beta-blockers have the potential to improve heart function, minimize the signs and symptoms of heart failure, and lengthen a person's life.
Diuretics: Diuretics are medications that stimulate increased urination and prevent fluid retention in the body. These medications are more commonly referred to as "water pills". In addition, diuretics like furosemide (Lasix) reduce the amount of fluid in your lungs, which makes it easier for you to breathe. Due to the fact that diuretics cause the body to lose potassium and magnesium, doctors often prescribe supplements to patients who take these medications as well.
Aldosterone antagonists: These are potassium-sparing diuretics that also have additional qualities that have the potential to extend the lives of those who have severe systolic heart failure. Unlike diuretics, these medications can cause the potassium in the blood to increase. For this reason, doctors often recommend changes in dietary habits to ensure the levels do not become dangerous.
Positive inotropes: Patients admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with certain types of severe heart failure may be given these drugs intravenously (IV). Positive Inotropes can assist the heart in pumping blood more efficiently, which is essential for maintaining blood pressure. Although beneficial in the short-term, the long-term use of these medications can increase the risk of death in some patients.
Digoxin (Lanoxin): This medication, which may also go by the name digitalis, increases the strength with which your heart muscle contracts. Furthermore, it has a tendency to slow the rate of heartbeat. Digoxin is effective in reducing the symptoms of heart failure in patients who have systolic heart failure. A patient who suffers from a problem with their heart's rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation, may be more likely to be prescribed this medication.
Hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate (BiDil): Combining these medications together is an effective method for relaxing blood vessels. If you have severe heart failure symptoms and ACE inhibitors or beta-blockers have not been helpful in treating your condition, this medication may be added to your treatment regimen.
Vericiguat (Verquvo): This is a newer type of medication that is prescribed to patients who suffer from chronic heart failure. This medication is a type of drug that is called an oral soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator.

In addition to these types of medications, doctors may also prescribe medications to patients to treat specific symptoms. For example, if a person has chest pain and receives nitrates, blood thinners may also be prescribed to help prevent blood clots. Patients may also receive statins to lower their cholesterol levels.

In addition to medication, patients may have to undergo various types of surgery in order to correct some of the issues that they may have. These can include heart transplants, cardiac resynchronization therapy, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, and even heart valve repairs. Although many of these treatment options are routinely prescribed to patients who suffer from congenital heart failure, they will never cure the condition.

However, more recently, we have seen scientists and professionals turn to the use of umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells to treat people who suffer from congenital heart failure. The results thus far have proven incredibly effective.

What are Umbilical Cord Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells?

Mesenchymal stem cells that originate from the umbilical cord tissue, also known as UCT-MSCs, are an exciting new therapeutic option for the treatment of congenital heart failure. UCT-MSCs offer a number of benefits over other forms of stem cells, the most notable of which is their ability to self-renew and differentiate into a wide variety of cell types. In addition, UCT-MSCs are immunoprivileged, which means that they have a greater chance of being accepted by the immune system of the body. This ensures that patients do not experience any difficulties as a result of the rejection of the cells.

Using UC-MSCs to Treat Congenital Heart Failure

When it comes to the treatment of cardiac disorders, it is essential to keep in mind that the loss of a substantial number of cardiomyocytes is one of the primary contributors to these conditions. The ability of cardiomyocytes to heal damaged tissues is extremely limited, as is the ability of these cells to perform additional functions on their own. Damage to the ventricles and chambers of the heart can be life-threatening because they play an essential role in ensuring that the heart chambers contract properly and that adequate blood flow is maintained throughout the body. Incredibly, because umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells have a remarkable ability to differentiate effectively into cardiomyocytes, they are able to play an important role in the field of regenerative medicine for the heart.

When the heart is unable to repair itself on its own, UTC-MSCs can assist in the process and help get it back in working order. Past research came to the conclusion that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells obtained from umbilical cords greatly improved the left ventricular function and the overall quality of life of patients who suffered from chronic stable heart failure and had received the stem cells. This was the conclusion drawn from studies that were conducted in the past. The Na channel, as well as the K+ channel of some of the subjects tested, showed signs of improvement.

According to a number of studies, the utilization of these umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells resulted in a significant improvement in heart function. This was notably true when compared to the mesenchymal stem cells that were derived from bone marrow.

In addition, there is evidence that UCT-MSCs can improve cardiac function in animal models of cardiovascular disease. These models include heart disease and stroke. According to the findings of one particular study, the utilization of mesenchymal stem cells that were obtained from umbilical cord tissue stimulated the formation of gap junctions within the native ventricular myocytes.

These studies have all revealed conclusively that the transplantation of UCT-MSCs successfully stimulated the regeneration of myocytes within the mouse animals without causing any negative side effects.

There is currently testing in humans going on to confirm the safety of use as well as to measure the effectiveness of the use of UCT-MSCs. It is likely that UCT-MSCs are a revolutionary and promising approach to the prevention or treatment of heart failure in patients that have congenital heart defects.

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