Diagnostic imaging could help to develop new treatments for patients who are
suffering with heart valve disease.
New research from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Research
Excellence at the University of Edinburgh has opened up the possibility of
alternative methods of dealing with aortic valve stenosis.
State-of-the-art PET scans were used at the research institute to assess 121
people with the disease.
The study found that there may be biological indictors to the development of
the disease and doctors could focus their treatments on preventing the
hardening of the valve before aortic valve stenosis developed.
Currently, patients with the heart condition face no alternative other than
to undergo a surgical procedure, as there are no drugs which have been proved
to be effective.
The BHF states that heart valve disease causes the blood flow to be blocked
as the valve does not fully open. It is thought that the illness affects around
one in 20 people in the UK.
© Adfero Ltd
Private PET scanning news: 16 December 2011
