Doctors Report Success Using Radiation to Treat Irregular Heartbeat
2023-05-20
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1American researchers have reported some success using radiation to treat patients experiencing irregular heartbeats.
2The highly experimental treatment has only been tried on a small number of patients.
3But doctors are preparing to carry out the first major study to test its effectiveness on large groups of people.
4Scientists working on the treatment say early research suggests radiation may reprogram misfiring heart cells to control heartbeats like younger, healthier cells do.
5An irregular heartbeat, known medically as ventricular tachycardia, is a major cause of sudden heart attacks worldwide.
6In the United States, the condition is blamed for about 300,000 deaths each year.
7Treating the condition with radiation is extremely unusual.
8Even doctors treating cancer patients are trained to avoid targeting the heart.
9There is concern that the radiation could cause additional harm.
10But doctors studying the treatment say they have seen such good results they are looking forward to expanding their research.
11The scientific team says the treatment would be targeted at patients with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who have tried other methods without success.
12The study will attempt to see whether a one-time radiation treatment can be a safe and effective way to treat irregular heartbeat patients who have not been helped by other methods.
13Dr. Stacey Rentschler is a developmental biologist who treats heart patients at the Washington University in St. Louis.
14She told The Associated Press the treatment "may actually rejuvenate sick tissue."
15Rentschler called that result "pretty exciting."
16One patient who agreed to receive the experimental treatment is Jeff Backus of Louisville, Kentucky.
17He was unable to solve his heart problems with other treatment methods.
18Backus had already gone through a lengthy operation to keep his heart beating normally.
19Doctors put a piece of equipment, called a defibrillator, inside his body to assist his heart when needed.
20But Backus' poor health continued.
21He would sometimes pass out and awaken to severe chest pain.
22Backus said the defibrillator had to save him by shocking his heart back into normal beating.
23"You're always in the back of your mind thinking, 'Is it going to happen?'" Backus told the AP.
24He decided to try the experimental radiation treatment in February. So far, he is doing well, and the method, he said, "gave me some hope."
25The heart's electrical system normally makes it beat at a rate anywhere from 60 to 100 times a minute. Ventricular tachycardia is a super-fast heartbeat that affects the organ's ability to pump blood.
26The condition can develop after damage from a past heart attack.
27The main treatment method involves doctors putting small catheters inside the heart to identify and burn misfiring tissue, which can block bad signals.
28Some patients, however, are too sick to receive the catheter treatment.
29And for others, like Backus, the problem often returns.
30The idea for the radiation treatment came from Dr. Phillip Cuculich, a heart specialist at Washington University.
31Cuculich teamed up with Dr. Clifford Robinson, who specializes in exact targeting of cancer while avoiding nearby healthy tissue.
32Robinson said he was never aiming for the heart during cancer treatments and instead always tried to miss the organ.
33But he agreed to try and warned patients about possible long-term risks.
34He said his first patient told him, "You're concerned about something that might happen 10 or 20 years from now? I'm worried about tomorrow."
35"That was really eye-opening," he added.
36Cuculich and Robinson reported their first successes in 2017 and 2019.
37Experiments with small numbers of severely sick patients showed major improvement.
38They say some patients are doing well up to six years later.
39The treatment has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
40But Cuculich and Robinson have received permission to treat about 80 people on a case-by-case basis.
41The team has also taught the method to many hospitals in the U.S. and other countries that have agreed to try it.
42I'm Bryan Lynn.
1American researchers have reported some success using radiation to treat patients experiencing irregular heartbeats. 2The highly experimental treatment has only been tried on a small number of patients. But doctors are preparing to carry out the first major study to test its effectiveness on large groups of people. 3Scientists working on the treatment say early research suggests radiation may reprogram misfiring heart cells to control heartbeats like younger, healthier cells do. 4An irregular heartbeat, known medically as ventricular tachycardia, is a major cause of sudden heart attacks worldwide. In the United States, the condition is blamed for about 300,000 deaths each year. 5Treating the condition with radiation is extremely unusual. Even doctors treating cancer patients are trained to avoid targeting the heart. There is concern that the radiation could cause additional harm. But doctors studying the treatment say they have seen such good results they are looking forward to expanding their research. 6The scientific team says the treatment would be targeted at patients with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who have tried other methods without success. 7The study will attempt to see whether a one-time radiation treatment can be a safe and effective way to treat irregular heartbeat patients who have not been helped by other methods. 8Dr. Stacey Rentschler is a developmental biologist who treats heart patients at the Washington University in St. Louis. She told The Associated Press the treatment "may actually rejuvenate sick tissue." Rentschler called that result "pretty exciting." 9One patient who agreed to receive the experimental treatment is Jeff Backus of Louisville, Kentucky. He was unable to solve his heart problems with other treatment methods. 10Backus had already gone through a lengthy operation to keep his heart beating normally. Doctors put a piece of equipment, called a defibrillator, inside his body to assist his heart when needed. But Backus' poor health continued. He would sometimes pass out and awaken to severe chest pain. Backus said the defibrillator had to save him by shocking his heart back into normal beating. 11"You're always in the back of your mind thinking, 'Is it going to happen?'" Backus told the AP. He decided to try the experimental radiation treatment in February. So far, he is doing well, and the method, he said, "gave me some hope." 12The heart's electrical system normally makes it beat at a rate anywhere from 60 to 100 times a minute. Ventricular tachycardia is a super-fast heartbeat that affects the organ's ability to pump blood. The condition can develop after damage from a past heart attack. 13The main treatment method involves doctors putting small catheters inside the heart to identify and burn misfiring tissue, which can block bad signals. Some patients, however, are too sick to receive the catheter treatment. And for others, like Backus, the problem often returns. 14The idea for the radiation treatment came from Dr. Phillip Cuculich, a heart specialist at Washington University. Cuculich teamed up with Dr. Clifford Robinson, who specializes in exact targeting of cancer while avoiding nearby healthy tissue. 15Robinson said he was never aiming for the heart during cancer treatments and instead always tried to miss the organ. But he agreed to try and warned patients about possible long-term risks. He said his first patient told him, "You're concerned about something that might happen 10 or 20 years from now? I'm worried about tomorrow." "That was really eye-opening," he added. 16Cuculich and Robinson reported their first successes in 2017 and 2019. Experiments with small numbers of severely sick patients showed major improvement. They say some patients are doing well up to six years later. 17The treatment has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But Cuculich and Robinson have received permission to treat about 80 people on a case-by-case basis. The team has also taught the method to many hospitals in the U.S. and other countries that have agreed to try it. 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 20__________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22rejuvenate - v. to make someone of something look or feel young and energetic again 23exciting - v. making you feel very excited and enthusiastic 24short-circuit - v. to cause a fault in an electrical connection 25catheter - n. a long, very thin tube used to take liquids out of the body 26_______________________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.