BioVAT stem cell heart patch offers hope for heart failure patients

The heart cannot heal itself.

After a heart attack or other cardiovascular disorder, the heart is unable to regenerate weakened muscles, reducing its ability to pump blood throughout the body. Although drug treatments to manage symptoms of heart failure, including new obesity drugs, continue to improve outcomes, many people ultimately face only two solutions: heart transplant or cardiac device implantation.

Now, a small new study is reporting progress with new methods. After people were given heart muscle patches made from induced pluripotent stem cells, their remuscularized heart walls thickened, their pumping ability was restored, and their quality of life improved slightly. Biological ventricular assist tissue in a patch, called BioVAT for short, was conceived as a bridge to long-wait transplants or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation in end-stage heart failure. Larger trials will help determine the best candidates for this approach and how durable it is.

STAT+ exclusive story