Research shows that healthy adult human hearts have a small natural regenerative ability, with cardiomyocytes renewing at about 0.5% annually. In patients with end-stage heart failure, this regenerative capacity drops dramatically to rates 18 to 50 times lower than healthy hearts. However, when patients receive left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support, cardiomyocyte renewal increases more than six-fold compared to healthy hearts, accompanied by significant cardiac improvements. Scientists measured this regeneration by analyzing carbon-14 in cardiomyocyte DNA from 52 heart failure patients, including 28 with LVAD support. Overall, these findings suggest significant therapeutic potential in human heart regeneration, particularly when supported by mechanical assistance devices.
Image from Unsplash by Robina Weermeijer.