Jena, May 26, 2026. At the Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ), an innovative medical breakthrough is providing new hope for heart patients: through a novel combination of a classic bypass operation and targeted shockwave therapy directly on the open heart, the organ’s pumping capacity can be significantly and sustainably increased.
- Event: Introduction of a novel combination therapy (bypass surgery + shockwaves) at the UKJ
- Location: Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ), Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena (View on Google Maps)
- Goal: Permanent regeneration of damaged heart muscle tissue and increase in pumping capacity
- Patient Benefit: Increase in heart pumping power by an average of 11 percentage points, significantly improved quality of life
A Quantum Leap in Cardiac Surgery
For people with severe heart failure, everyday life is often characterized by shortness of breath and extreme weakness. A classic bypass operation can bridge blocked vessels and restore blood flow, but already dead or severely damaged heart muscle tissue usually does not regenerate as a result. This is where the procedure established at the Universitätsklinikum Jena comes in. The combination of surgical intervention and physical shockwave treatment is considered a medical milestone that essentially gives the heart muscle a rejuvenation treatment.
How Shockwaves Regenerate the Heart Muscle
The principle behind the treatment is based on biological self-healing powers activated by targeted mechanical stimuli. During the bypass operation, while the heart is exposed, the damaged area of the muscle is treated with low-energy shockwaves. These waves create tiny shear forces in the tissue, invisible to the eye. The understandable mode of action can be summarized in three steps:
- Release of growth factors: The cells of the heart muscle react to the mechanical pressure of the shockwaves and release specific proteins.
- Attraction of stem cells: These proteins signal the body to send its own stem cells to the damaged area.
- Formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis): Fine, new capillary vessels are created, which permanently provide the tissue with better oxygen and nutrients.
Through this triple effect, the tissue does not just scar over passively but actively builds new, functional heart muscle cells. The heart thus regains part of its original strength.
Hope for Local Patients: The Example of Mike Pfleger
The example of patient Mike Pfleger shows how life-changing this method is. Before the procedure at the UKJ, his heart output was at a critical 23 percent – a condition that made even the slightest physical exertion impossible. Through the combination of the bypass installation and the shockwave therapy applied directly in the operating room, the Jena physicians predict a long-term increase in pumping capacity of around 11 percentage points. For the patient, this means a step back into a largely normal, self-determined life.
Significance for Jena as a Medical Location
The successful establishment of this therapy at the university hospital underlines the outstanding role of Jena’s university medicine in national and international comparison. Patients from Jena and all of Thüringen benefit from short distances to absolute top-tier medicine, which is otherwise only offered at very few highly specialized centers worldwide. The UKJ thus consolidates its reputation as a leading driver of innovation in cardiac surgery and secures a top position for the Thüringen location in medical research and practice.
🏛️ The Universitätsklinikum Jena as a Medical Beacon
The Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ) is the only university hospital in the Free State of Thüringen and looks back on a centuries-old tradition closely linked to the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität. With the modern new hospital building in the Jena district of Lobeda, the clinics formerly scattered across the entire city area were brought together on a central, state-of-the-art campus. Today, over 5,000 employees work at the UKJ in patient care, research, and teaching. The continuous introduction of world-leading surgical procedures, such as combined heart shockwave therapy, regularly secures top positions for the Jena location in international hospital rankings and attracts renowned scientists and doctors to the Saale.
Source:
New procedure rejuvenates heart: Shockwave therapy during bypass surgery improves pumping capacity
Transparency Note: This article was automatically created, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.