Heart crisis Scot is first in world for new therapy

A SCOT is the first person in the world to take part in a trial to extend the lifespan of blood vessels in the heart by using gene therapy.

- BY SARAH WARD

Retired lorry driver John MacDonald, 73, had a heart attack at his home in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in August.

He agreed to the trial following bypass surgery and was flown to the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, for care funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The grandfather-of-three underwent open heart surgery, using a vein in his leg as a graft to create a new route for blood to his heart.