Sunday Times 2
Sri Lankan doctor in major cardiovascular breakthrough
View(s):Sri Lankan born Dr. Chrishan Ramachandra is part of Singapore’s National Heart Centre research team that uses stem cells to identify novel therapies for patients with cardiovascular disorders.
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to abnormal heart rhythm has become increasingly prevalent in today’s population. Studying SCD is challenging as it is nearly impossible to obtain a tissue sample from the heart. Using innovative methods, the team members converted skin and blood cells of patients with abnormal heart rhythm into beating heart tissue in a petri dish. The team members — Associate Professor Philip Wong, Senior Research Fellow Dr. Richard Shim and Dr. Ramachandra — then used this heart tissue to test various compounds and identified an FDA-approved drug which could potentially stabilise abnormal heart rhythm during periods of high stress.
Patients suffering from abnormal heart rhythm need to keep their emotions in check, because simple everyday events such as a doorbell or a car horn can trigger an event leading to SCD. Therefore, this breakthrough will have major impact on improving the quality of life of patients in the near future. The impressive study has been published in the European Heart Journal which is one of the world’s foremost journals in the field of cardiology.
