Could Stem Cells Repair Heart Damage?
Adult human heart regenerative ability is low compared to young postnatal heart:
We lose about 300 million cells per minute in our bodies and the loss of these cells and removal of dead cells is very effectively accomplished when we are young. However, as we age this ability is much less effective. Human heart is a good example. Adult human heart is a terminally differentiated organ and is not able to regenerate after massive cell loss of approximately 1 billion cardiac myocytes (CM) after a heart attack / AMI (Acute myocardial infarction) resulting in heart failure. Human heart is built of several types of cells such as :(1) Cardiomyocytes, the beating muscle cells that make up the atria, the chambers where blood enters the heart, and the ventricles, where blood is pumped out of your heart, (2) Cardiac pacemaker cells, which send and receive electrical signals to keep your heart beating in rhythm, (3) Endothelial cells, which line blood vessels and help deliver oxygen to the cardiomyocytes.