New Drug Candidate Holds Potential in Treating Heart Disease by Angela Mohan on December 11, 2020 at 10:29 AM
Science by scientists from Gladstone Institute.
Calcific aortic valve disease is not only the most common valve disease in the elderly, it s also the third leading cause of heart disease overall. For those affected, calcium starts to accumulate in their heart valves and vessels over time, until they harden like bone.
As a result, blood flow out of the heart s pumping chamber to the body gets obstructed, leading to heart failure. Yet no medical therapy currently exists. All patients can do is wait for the calcification (or hardening) to become bad enough that they need surgery to replace their valve.