New treatment to prevent limb amputation due to cardiovascular disease (peripheral artery disease)

Cardiovascular disease affects one in every six Australians – meaning over 4.2 million people and their families have felt its terrible consequences. The disease can manifest in many ways, including heart attack, stroke and peripheral artery disease (PAD). In PAD, blood flow to the limbs is reduced due to narrowed arteries. When circulation is cut off, the limb develops gangrene and starts to decay and die. There is no cure for gangrene. The only treatment option is to amputate the affected limb to prevent the gangrene from spreading further in the body.

Dr Mary Kavurma is head of Vascular Complications at Heart Research Institute and has made a groundbreaking discovery about an underlying mechanism that has shown to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and dramatically improve blood flow to limbs, thus preventing gangrene and amputation.

The Heart Research Institute (HRI) is an internationally recognised medical research institute that performs groundbreaking cardiovascular research.

The HRI’s mission is to prevent death and suffering from cardiovascular diseases, a complex array of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels.

We will address areas of unmet need in cardiovascular diseases including coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, hypertension, heart failure, preeclampsia, congenital heart disease and pulmonary vascular disease, as well as metabolic complications such as diabetes.