The new approach uses lab-grown heart tissue made from reprogrammed adult stem cells, delivered through a tiny incision rather than a surgically opened chest cavity. In preclinical testing, the stem cell patch restored heart function and improved healing.

“For patients with severe heart failure, there are very few options beyond mechanical pumps or transplants. We hope this approach will offer a new way to repair their own hearts,” says Wuqiang Zhu, Ph.D., senior author of the study published in Acta Biomaterialia and a cardiovascular researcher at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Reversing the irreversible

Heart attacks remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, oxygen-starved cells die and are replaced by scar tissue that cannot contract or conduct electrical signals—weakening the heart’s ability to pump blood.