UC Health looking for participants for angina study

CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati is looking for people to participate in a new study to treat chest pain.

The clinical trial will study if the patients stem cells can treat angina, which is a chest pain that occurs when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood.

Researchers are looking for patients age 21-80 who have been diagnosed with angina.

“We’re trying to determine if the stem cells will help to form new vessel networks, delivering blood flow to the heart and alleviating the symptoms of angina,” said Neal Weintraub, MD, Mabel Stearns Stonehill Chair of Cardiology, professor in the division of cardiovascular diseases and principal investigator of the study.

Patients will undergo two exert use tolerance tests and self-report chest pain episodes for 28 days. One-fourth of the participants will be randomly selected to not receive the stem cell injection procedure. Subjects will also have to commit to follow up appointments for up to one year.

“This will help us determine the ability and safety of using stem cells to increase exercise tolerance in this group of patients and possibly help treat their angina, improving their quality of life,” said Weintraub.

Those interested in participating can call (513) 558-0237. For questions or to find out about this and other cardiovascular diseases clinical trials call (513) 558-2273 (CARD).