‘BOTOX’ may prevent a common complication of heart surgery. Injections of botulinum toxin are being tested as a treatment for post-operative atrial fibrillation (AF), where the heart beats rapidly and irregularly, which is experienced by up to 40 per cent of patients after surgery – it’s thought as a result of inflammation.
Although the AF is temporary, it can result in heart failure or stroke. In an international trial at centres that include Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, heart surgery patients will have jabs of botulinum toxin around their hearts.
It’s thought the compound, which blocks signals passing between nerves and muscles, can help by interrupting abnormal nerve signals to the heart that cause it to misfire.
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