Horst (75) recently had to be treated in hospital. His doctor asked him if he would donate some blood for research. He didn't have to think long and agreed. His blood is now in a biobank and helps scientists to develop new and better treatments for patients.
It all began three years ago: Horst, who was 72 at the time, felt an unusual tightness in his chest while working in his garden.
He suffered from shortness of breath and had to vomit. An examination at the nearby clinic quickly revealed that something was wrong with his heart. "I had a posterior wall infarction and had to be operated on. The doctors inserted several stents. After the operation, I was fine again at first," Horst recalls.
Within a few months, however, his condition deteriorated again. His heart's pumping capacity decreased and he developed heart failure as a result of the heart attack. "This time was mentally very stressful," Horst recalls. "I could hardly cope physically, I was constantly tired and exhausted." The heart failure was treated at a specialist centre as part of a clinical trial. There he received optimal medical and psychosocial care, so that although his condition is now chronic, he has it very well under control.
"I'm enjoying my life again and spending as much time as possible with my family, children and grandchildren."
As part of the treatment in the study, blood was taken from him, which is used for diagnostics as well as for heart failure research. His blood is stored in a biobank and helps scientists to develop new and better treatments for heart failure patients. "I am very grateful to my doctors for the good medical treatment I received as part of the study," Horst reports.
"For me, it goes without saying that I donate my blood to the biobank. New and better treatments can only be developed if as many people as possible take part!"