Heart disease kills more people worldwide than any other cause. In America, it is the number one reason people are admitted to the hospital. Additionally, heart disease is the number one healthcare expense in the US, costing over $100 billion annually.
One reason causing this disease to be so prevalent is the popularization of a western diet. These diets are loaded with ultra-processed foods that disrupt the oxygen supply to the heart causing cardiac events.
Once the heart is damaged, it repairs itself not by regenerating healthy functioning tissue, but by replacing it with scar tissue. As scars replace cardiac muscle, a person loses much of their ability to function normally. This is because the heart can no longer meet the body’s demand for blood.
But what if we could help the heart to be more regenerative? That is what physician-scientist Chuck Murry is hoping to accomplish using stem cells.
After many successful animal trials, Murry and his team are hoping to start human trials next year.
The above video goes into detail about this potentially world-changing therapy.
Sources: TED, National Institutes of Health
