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(Circulation Research. 2003;92:6.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

Stem Cells to Repair the Heart

A Clinical Perspective

Noel M. Caplice, Bernard J. Gersh

From the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Molecular Medicine Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Correspondence to Noel M. Caplice, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic, GU 1801, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail caplice.noel@mayo.edu

Key Words: adult stem cells • myocardial regeneration

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

"It is common sense to take a method and try it: if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

— —F.D. Roosevelt

The last two decades have witnessed enormous advances in the management of acute myocardial infarction with emphasis upon prompt reperfusion therapy in conjunction with the use of aspirin, ß-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and risk factor reduction as cornerstones of postdischarge management. The early and late mortality of myocardial infarction is declining, but, for several reasons, we should not become complacent. Mortality rates from randomized control trials underestimate the community mortality, in that participants in trials are highly selected.¹ Moreover, in most countries of the world, many eligible patients do not actually receive reperfusion therapy, or if they do, it is often too late to exert a maximum benefit. Furthermore, the majority of the myocardial infarction population being elderly have a substantial mortality, and comorbidities including diabetes are on the increase. From a clinical standpoint, despite undoubted progress, there remains a large population of survivors of extensive infarctions with diminished cardiac reserve who comprise a reservoir of patients who will develop congestive heart failure with all its grim sequelae.² The concept that such patients could be treated by myocardial regeneration is logical, tantalizing, and above all, exciting. Moreover, continued progress in the basic sciences has shifted the focus from a concept more closely allied to science fiction to the realm of feasibility. Nonetheless, our expectations need to be tempered by a realistic appreciation . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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