Turkish scientists pioneer innovative patch to repair heart attack damage

Innovative research from Kayseri’s Erciyes University uses groundbreaking innovative patches to restore heart tissue in controlled laboratory trials.

Dr. Okan Ozocak, an associate professor of cardiovascular surgery at Erciyes University School of Medicine, and his colleague and spouse, Dr. Gonca Kamaci Ozocak, an expert in laboratory animal science at the faculty of veterinary medicine, have conducted Türkiye’s first successful heart patch trial on rats.

Designed by biomedical engineers to mend heart tissue, this experimental patch has been applied to the hearts of rats induced with controlled heart attacks in a six-month laboratory study at Erciyes University.

Dr. Ozocak expressed that this pioneering study marks a milestone for Türkiye. “We explored whether a heart patch, developed to repair damage from heart attacks, could function effectively in a live model. We created controlled heart attacks in rats and applied the patch to the damaged region,” he explained.

Triumph in lab: Breakthrough achieved by Türkiye-based team

“This challenging experiment, one previously considered nearly impossible, was a success thanks to my wife, our team, and our efforts,” Dr. Ozocak noted.

Dr. Gonca Kamaci Ozocak explained further: “We induced controlled heart attacks in our rat subjects, then sutured the heart patch onto the damaged area. For the experiment’s success, the rats needed to survive for 28 days, which they did, yielding positive results in subsequent examinations of their hearts.”

International recognition and collaboration potential

Following the successful trial, Dr. Kamaci Ozocak presented their findings during an academic conference in Germany. She described the response she received at Heidelberg University, one of Europe’s premier research institutions: “Colleagues were astonished, telling me, ‘We attempted this experiment but couldn’t keep the rats alive. Perhaps we should collaborate.’ This achievement has set Türkiye apart; no country in the Middle East or Balkans has managed a comparable procedure, and even in Europe, only a few centers have succeeded.”

This pioneering heart patch experiment places Türkiye at the forefront of cardiac research, opening new pathways for international collaboration and offering hope for heart attack recovery.