A herb used in traditional Chinese medicine has benefits for heart attack patients, a top NHS professor believes.
Astragalus is a herb commonly used in Chinese medicine and now Professor Ioakim Spyridopoulos from Newcastle University and the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust has conducted research suggesting that a compound produced from the plant can improve how elderly heart attack patients recover. The product, purified to make the compound TA-65, was given to older patients for a year following a heart attack.
Prof Spyridopoulos and his team have found treatment with TA-65 reduces heart inflammation and improves the immunity of patients. The team has published a study in the journal GeroScience highlighting how this can lead to less complications for patients following their heart attacks - and less chest and join pain.
