Scientists have found a potential treatment that can help regenerate cardiac tissues after a heart attack and could help prevent the onset of heart failure in patients.
During a heart attack, the heart is starved of oxygen and heart muscle is damaged.
The body responds by sending in immune cells to clear up dead and dying cells but these cells themselves cause further inflammation in the already damaged heart and this can lead to heart failure.
Researchers from the University of Oxford found that injecting a protein called VEGF-C after heart attack significantly reduced the number of damaged heart muscles and allowed the heart to recover almost all of its pumping function.
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