SUNRISE, FL--(Marketwired - Jan 29, 2014) - Bioheart, Inc. (OTCQB: BHRT), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of autologous cell therapies, announced that its first successful adipose derived stem cell (ADSC) implantation was performed in Azerbaijan at Baku Central Military Hospital. 

"Stem cell therapy is literally changing medicine today as we know it. Bioheart is thrilled to bring these treatments to patients all over the world who are currently suffering from debilitating diseases but who have limited treatment options," said Kristin Comella, Bioheart's Chief Scientific Officer.

The implantation occurred as a result of Bioheart's new partnership with Anosis Biomedical Limited to distribute Bioheart therapies to patients in the Middle East and surrounding areas. Azerbaijan is the largest country in the region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Performed by Emrah Anar, M.D., Chief of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery at Baku Central Military Hospital, a 55 year-old female patient with non-revascularized critical limb ischemia received the implantation.

The patient had critical limb ischemia with clinical presentation corresponding to Rutherford Categories 4 and Leriche-Fontaine Classification III and presented with rest pain, muscle wasting and thinning in the left leg. The left superficial femoral artery, popliteal artery and crural arteries were occluded and collateral arteries were very inadequate according to the patient's angiogram.

Adipose tissue was aspirated under local anesthesia with liposuction from the abdominal region. The stromal vascular fraction including mesenchymal stem cells was derived from the patient's adipose tissue and mixed with platelet rich plasma (PRP) from the patient. The mixture was injected into the muscle tissue below the knee and the procedure was completed without complications.

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart, Inc. is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit www.bioheartinc.com, or visit us on Facebook: Bioheart and Twitter @BioheartInc.

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