KarunaNews Story

In 2022, 13.9% of all deaths in the U.S. were caused by heart failure - and they weren’t just in older people. Recent research at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tuscon suggests heart failure may one day have a cure. The idea is based on a new study showing that, in some cases, the heart muscle can heal itself. Regeneration was “minimal” for those with end-stage heart failure, but “significant” for patients who had received left ventricle assist device therapy. Hesham Sadek, the college’s cardiology division chief, theorized that the mechanical pump lets the real muscle “rest” and regenerate. Now, he seeks to learn why only around 25% of patients with left ventricular assist devices demonstrate cardiac muscle regeneration. “This is the strongest evidence we have, so far, that human heart muscle cells can actually regenerate, which really is exciting, because it solidifies the notion that there is an intrinsic capacity of the human heart to regenerate,” Hesham Sadek, the College of Medicine’s cardiology division chief, said in a statement.