Discovery of Culprit Behind Scars in Heart Failure Points to Possible Treatment Target

Posted onNovember 14th, 2024byDr. Monica M. Bertagnolli

More than 6 million adults in the U.S. haveheart failure, a condition that develops when the heart cant pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. While lifestyle changes and treatment can slow heart failure, theres no cure. One reason is that heart failure and other heart conditions including heart attacks lead heart muscle to become thickened and scarred in a process known as fibrosis. Effective strategies to reverse or stop fibrosis in the heart or other organs after injury, as is needed for recovery, have remained elusive.

Now, a new NIH-supported study offers a step forward in better understanding what happens in human heart failure. These findings, reported inNature, identify a cell type that may be a main culprit in the formation of scar tissue after heart injury. Whats even more encouraging is that the study, which included mouse models, suggests that existing treatments that block communication between the immune system and the scar-forming cells may hold promise for limiting fibrosis to improve heart function.