#HyperbaricOxygenTherapy #HBO #CardiovascularDisease #HeartHealth #Atherosclerosis #MyocardialInfarction #HeartAttack #Angina #PeripheralVascularDisease #PVDSymptoms #CriticalLimbIschemia #CardiogenicShock #HeartSurgery #CardiacRehab #OxygenTherapy #WoundHealing
This video explores Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) for various cardiovascular diseases. HBO involves breathing 100% oxygen at elevated pressure, significantly increasing dissolved oxygen in blood plasma. This extra oxygen can potentially reach tissues with poor blood flow. Research suggests HBO may benefit atherosclerosis by reversing plaque buildup in animal studies, potentially through antioxidant effects. It might also promote better healing of blood vessels after injury.
For acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), animal studies indicate potential benefits like smaller infarct size, lower mortality, and improved energy use. Human trials, while often small, have suggested HBO could reduce death risk, arrhythmias, and perhaps improve outcomes in cardiogenic shock, especially when started early. Combining HBO with clot-busting drugs appears promising in animal and initial human studies.
In chronic ischemic heart disease, HBO has been reported to reduce angina symptoms, improve blood flow dynamics, and enhance cardiac rehabilitation effectiveness. It may also help manage various cardiac arrhythmias. For heart failure, HBO might stimulate protective heat shock proteins. During cardiac arrest, HBO has shown potential to improve brain blood flow during CPR in animal models.
HBO is explored as an adjunct in heart surgery. Preconditioning the heart with HBO before bypass surgery can reduce damage (ischemia-reperfusion injury), improve heart function, and potentially protect the brain. Surgery performed inside a hyperbaric chamber has even shown potential for avoiding blood transfusions.
For peripheral vascular disease (PVD), particularly severe critical limb ischemia (CLI) with ulcers, HBO aims to increase oxygen delivery to poorly supplied tissues to aid wound healing, relieve pain, and potentially reduce the need for amputation. Combining HBO with exercise has shown improvements in walking distance and muscle metabolism in patients with claudication. HBO may also have roles in rarer arterial conditions and alongside PVD surgery.
Overall, HBO shows significant potential across a range of cardiovascular conditions, though the evidence, particularly from large human trials, is still developing. This summary draws from sources including Jain’s Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine.
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