REVIEW ARTICLE - STEM CELLS AND MYOCARDIAL REGENERATION

Cardiomyocytes lose their ability to proliferate after birth and so heart muscle fibers cannot regenerate. For that reason myocardial injury, such as myocardial infarction (MI), heals by replacement of contractile heart muscle fibers by fibrotic tissue scar, which not only cannot participate in pumping of blood, it does not even contribute to passive mechanics of heart. Massive loss of cardiomyocytes after MI is a common cause of heart failure (HF), which is a consequence of many other cardiovascular diseases, and serious public health problem.