A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked, most often by a build-up of fat, cholesterol and other substances, which form a plaque in the arteries that feed the heart (coronary arteries). The interrupted blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle. Satsuki Yamada, M.D., Ph.D., a recent recipient of a Regenerative Medicine Minnesota Translational Research Grant, is investigating the use of patient’s own stem cells as a new therapy to help reestablish and maintain a synchronized pumping motion in the infarcted heart.

Dr. Yamada is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic. Her study seeks to develop a regenerative therapy to correct disrupted wall motion (“cardiac dyssynchrony”) after a heart attack. Under conditions replicating patient management of this resilient disorder, the safety and efficacy of a new class of patient-derived stem cells delivered into diseased heart regions will be tested by a multidisciplinary team. Successful outcome will provide the foundation for first-in-human studies targeting heart muscle synchronization in refractory heart failure.

Learn more about Dr. Yamada's research:

Tags: heart attack, Mayo Clinic, Medical Research, regenerative medicine, Regenerative Medicine Minnesota, Regenerative Medicine Minnesota, research, Research, stem cells, translational research