Following a heart attack the heart sometimes isn’t able to pump blood around the body as well as it previously would have been. When this happens people can experience breathlessness and be extremely tired which can greatly affect their daily lives. As time goes on the heart tends to become weaker and symptoms of the condition become worse. Growth factors are chemicals which can help the damaged heart, or any other organ, to repair itself. However without some form of protection these growth factors get destroyed quickly in the body before they have time to have any beneficial effects. This project aims to package one such growth factor in tiny particles. These particles will protect the growth factor and thus prevent destruction of the growth factor. Following injection of the particles into the heart they will start to allow the growth factor packaged within them to escape over time. Because the growth factor is in the heart where it can do its job, it is less likely to be destroyed and much more likely to have an effect, helping new blood vessels to grow and improving the blood supply to the areas affected by the heart attack. This will prevent any further damage to the heart and help to repair the damaged areas.
