‘Eater cells’ may prevent even worse damage after heart attack – Futurity

Patients with heart failure, an invariably fatal condition, tire easily and become breathless from everyday activities because the heart muscle has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body.

The study could lead to new therapies that reduce the risk of developing heart failure after a heart attack, severe viral illness, or other cardiac injury.

Damage to the heart muscle often causes progressive inflammation, a major driver of heart failure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5.7 million American adults have heart failure.

“Heart failure remains a major problem, with half of all patients dying within five years of diagnosis,” says senior author and cardiologist Abhinav Diwan, associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.