According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart failure affects more than 6 million Americans and is the main cause of death for one in eight patients.
In a new study, researchers found that a type of white blood cells known as macrophages plays a role in protecting the heart after injury. The findings could lead to targeted therapies for heart failure.
The heart contains various types of immune cells that the team studied simultaneously using advanced research techniques.
They discovered a large increase in the number of macrophages early in the response to a cardiac injury similar to high blood pressure.
They found a cardiac injury similar to high blood pressure leads to a quick increase in the number of cardiac macrophages.
These cardiac macrophages are important to stimulate new blood vessel formation in the heart.
Macrophages that reside in the heart are important to prevent scarring or fibrosis of the heart, a process where excessive proteins are deposited around cardiac muscle cells which leads to stiffening of the heart.
The early increase in macrophages was important to prevent the development of heart failure.
Immune cells in the heart are important players in the progression of heart failure and scarring of the heart.
While there is currently no cure for heart failure, immune cell-targeted therapies hold promise for new treatment avenues for cardiac disease.
The results of this study point to a critical role for macrophages in the heart’s healing process.
The team says immune cells such as macrophages are integral components of the heart where they exert profound effects in healthy and diseased conditions.
This study shows that macrophages that reside in the cardiac tissue, but not those from blood origins, protect the failing heart.
If you care about heart failure, please read studies about a new way to treat heart failure and findings of drinking this beverage too much may lead to heart failure.
For more information about heart failure, please see recent studies about heart failure and stroke rising in men under 40 and results showing that these common painkillers may harm your heart and kidneys.
The study is published in Circulation Research. One author of the study is Xavier Revelo, Ph.D.
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