- The effects of a heart attack are often permanent, as the heart tissue cannot regenerate, unlike some other tissues.
- This means that despite somebody surviving a heart attack, the damage done could cause health problems or death in the years following the event.
- Regenerating heart tissue to allow damaged heart tissue to be treated is a hot topic in research.
- Now researchers have discovered a mechanism that allows them to treat heart tissue in mice, before a heart attack, in a way that provides protection months later.
Although most people
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In a recent animal study, researchers identified a mechanism that allowed them to treat heart tissue and make healthy mice’s hearts more resilient before a heart attack.
The study’s results appear in Nature Cardiovascular Research.
Prof. James Leiper, Ph.D., Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation and Professor of Molecular Medicine in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health at the University of Glasgow, U.K. told Medical News Today in an email:
“Most heart attacks are caused by coronary artery disease which can cause your coronary arteries to become narrowed. The narrowing is due to a gradual buildup of fatty deposits called atheroma. If a piece of atheroma breaks off, a blood clot forms around this to try and repair the damage to the artery wall. This clot can then block your coronary arteries causing the heart muscle to be starved of blood, oxygen, and vital nutrients, leading to heart muscle death.
The amount of damage to the heart muscle depends on the size of the…
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