Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for more deaths globally than any other single disease. There are on average 1.5 million episodes of myocardial infarction (heart attack) each year in the United States alone with roughly one-third resulting in death. There is therefore a major need for developing new and effective strategies to promote cardiac repair. Intramyocardial transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has emerged as a leading contender in the pursuit of clinical intervention and therapy. 

MSCs are potent mediators of cardiac repair and are therefore an attractive tool in the development of preclinical and clinical trials. MSCs are capable of secreting a large array of soluble factors, which have had demonstrated effects on pathogenic cardiac remolding, fibrosis, immune activation, and cardiac stem cell proliferation within the damaged heart. MSCs are also capable of differentiation into cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, although the relative contribution of trilineage differentiation and paracrine effectors on cardiac repair remains the subject of active investigation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about 1 in 4 deaths. The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. In the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, high blood pressure and stroke. ₍₁₎

What are the symptoms of heart disease?

The symptoms may be: 

• Chest pain
• Upper back or neck pain
• Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Nausea 
• Fluttering feelings in the chest (Palpitations)
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Neck veins.

The symptoms of heart diseases vary depending on which condition is affecting the individual. Sometimes heart disease may be “silent” and not diagnosed until a person experiences symptoms of a heart failure or arrhythmia. 

What causes heart disease?

The causes for heart diseases are primarily by damage to all or part of the heart, damage in the arteries and, lack of nutrients and oxygen to the organ.

There are several agents that can increase the risk of heart diseases including:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Genetic disposition
• Smoking
• Overweight and obesity
• Diabetes
• Family history
• Poor diet/changes in diet
• Age

Is stem cell therapy an answer to heart failure?

The use of mesenchymal stem cells has shown to improve the cardiac structure and function, functional capacity and the patient's quality of life, thanks to the properties that stem cells have to reduce fibrosis in the heart. Stem cell therapy has demonstrated to benefit the heart by stimulating the natural regenerative response of the body. 

Administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to diseased hearts improves cardiac function and reduces scar size. These effects occur via the stimulation of endogenous repair mechanisms, including regulation of immune responses, tissue perfusion, inhibition of fibrosis, and proliferation of resident cardiac cells. ₍₂₎

The last two decades have witnessed the development of novel regenerative medicine approaches for cardiovascular diseases. However, the ultimate goal of complete repair of the heart in response to damage has yet to be realized.

MSCs have the advantages of a wide range of sources, easy isolation and amplification, and low immunogenicity. In addition, transplanted MSCs can migrate to infarcted myocardial tissue, reduce the inflammatory response, reduce fibrosis, promote the formation of new blood vessels, and differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells, ultimately contributing to the repair of infarcted myocardium. ₍₁₎

The use of mesenchymal stem cells has shown to improve the cardiac structure and function, functional capacity and the patient's quality of life, thanks to the properties that stem cells have to reduce fibrosis in the heart. Stem cell therapy has demonstrated to benefit the heart by stimulating the natural regenerative response of the body. ₍₃₎

Stem cell therapy cost

Stem cell therapy cost for Cardiovascular Disease, in Giostar Mexico, starts at $8,500.00 USD. Pricing highly depends on the personalized protocol that the Medical Director determines based on each patient's condition. What does this include?

• Transportation from hotel-clinic, clinic-hotel and airport-hotel as well as hotel-airport (mainly for our Clinics in Playa del Carmen and Guadalajara; our Clinic in Los Algodones, due to its proximity to the US-Mexico border crossing, we pick up patients on the border or at Yuma Airport and take them to our clinic or their hotel)
• Lodging (available in our Clinic in Algodones) in Hotel Hacienda or Hotel Cielito Lindo
• Oxygen Therapy
• Body preparation – Nutritional IV Therapy
• 1 - 10 billion exosomes (volume depends on Doctor's personal evaluation of each patient)
• 1 - 4 stem cell vials (35 - 140 million stem cells)
• Laboratory protocol by Dr. Anand (activation of the stem cells in order to direct them towards the affected tissue or organ)
• Medical Consultation
• Dietitian Follow up post-therapy
• Preferential prices for future reinforcements/applications
• Laboratory exams the previous day before the first application

Financial Option for Stem Cell Therapy

Giostar Mexico is continuously looking to provide our patients with resources and options to receive stem cell therapy at the best stem cell clinics in Mexico. We are happy to announce that, through United Medical Credit, our patients (exclusive for US citizens) may now receive up to $25,000.00 USD in credit for their treatment (note: price for therapy varies depending on the condition to be treated and a number of stem cells [vials] included). Patients can ask for the maximum amount of the credit or ask for a percentage based on the price of the therapy.

If you have a heart condition and want to find out if you're a candidate for stem cell therapy, you can fill out this contact form and we will give you a call or email you as soon as possible! Or contact us directly to our US landline 619-866-6000.

References

1. Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1416, Chapter 4,  Ian A. White , Cristina Sanina , Wayne Balkan , and Joshua M. Hare  “Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Cardiology”, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-3584-0_4, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
2. Murphy SL, Xu J, Kochanek KD, Arias E. Mortality in the United States, 2017. NCHS data brief, no 328. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2018.
3. Yajun Guo, Yunsheng Yu, Shijun Hu, Yueqiu Chen and Zhenya Shen1. (2020). The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells for cardiovascular diseases. Cell Death & Disease, -, 10. 10/07/2021.