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Heart Attacks as Treatments

Posted by michael on from the like-a-surgeon dept.

cannon_trodder writes "Just caught a story at the BBC which explains how surgeons are going to be demonstrating a surgical technique that involves deliberately inducing a heart attack in order to remove over-thickened tissue in the heart. The article also explains that the 3 procedures will be transmitted directly to a cardiology conference with the 100 delegates able to ask questions during the op. 'If it ain't fixed, break it.'"

3 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. Similar to shock treatments by mfos.org · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Two psychiatrists (whose names escape me) noticed that after having seizures, patients would become more docile. They also noticed that in slaughter houses when the cattle where killed by means of a sledge hammer to the head, they appeared to have seizures.

    Realizing that they couldn't strike people over the head too often before permanent damage resulted, they resorted to electrical shocks, and electro-shock therapy was born.

  2. been done before... sorta. by dev0n · · Score: 2, Interesting

    there's a drug called Adenosine that is administered to people with certain heart rhythm disorders.

    "Adenocard (adenosine injection) exerts its effect by decreasing conduction through the A-V node and may produce a short lasting first-, second- or third-degree heart block."

    Source: http://www.fujisawa.com/medinfo/pi/pi_page_ac.htm

    it's not the same as injecting alcohol into someone's heart to stop it, but i wanted to point out that stopping someone's heart to "cure" a condition has already been done. :)

    and yes, i realize that heart block and heart attack are two separate things, but they both have the same end result: no heartbeat.

  3. Probably not even close, but the application.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ..I heard stories from military people, who, back in the day, were issued very, very fine, long syringes, filled with all sorts of good stuff.

    The idea? In case of biochemical weaponry (gas), unseal wrapper, stab self in heart, inject. IIRC, it was for use against a specific type of gas that would cause the heart to slow/stop. The juice injected supposedly made the heart go mad, thereby preventing it from slowing/stopping.

    Now, I can't say if this is true or not, but when I've heard it, it was always spoken of in one of those, "Feh, I'd rather not." tones. I'd imagine it could be bad if you stuck it in too far/missed/whatnot. *chuckle*

    Provided this wasn't just all made up, and that the people suggesting loading up the heart with good stuff nowadays aren't crackpots, I'm wondering what else we'll see in regards to pumping stuff directly into really really really vital organs? I'm talking non-surgical here, as far as I know, they already do injections of various types into bits o' vitals once someone's cut open.