Chinese herb may offer help for heart attack victims

Hong Kong (dpa) - Researchers from Hong Kong's Chinese University are testing a herb that helps repair damaged hearts in some animals to see if it offers similar benefits for people, a media report said on Monday.

While the actual herb cannot be identified for patent reasons, a drug derived from the herb extract, known as dcg, has regenerated new blood vessels within 48 hours.

Chinese University cardiology department head Professor John Sanderson said: "One of the problems with the heart is that once it's damaged, it doesn't tend to re-grow, unlike the liver. The liver and skin can repair themselves but the heart doesn't."

Sanderson said dcg could allow the heart to repair itself, The Standard reported.

About 25 per cent of all public health spending worldwide every year is on heart treatments, meaning there was potentially a massive market for the new drug, Chinese University associate professor Lee Ming said.

The herb is found in China's Guizhou and Anhui provinces. Lee noticed the herbal extract was used as a drug by people in Guizhou who seemed to have longer life spans than people from richer provinces.