Heart failure, the number one discharge diagnosis in the United States, is presumably responsible for over 46,000 deaths per year, and contributes to the death of another 220,000 individuals. There are approximately 550,000 new cases diagnosed annually, and half of those patients are likely to succumb within five years (Amer Heart Assoc, 01). Patients who suffer from congestive heart failure do so because of a loss of functional muscle, either due to ischemic heart disease when muscle turns to scar, or due to the presence of dysfunctional muscle from various causes, including hypertension, viruses, and idiopathic factors. As stem cells have yet to be found in the heart, the heart cannot naturally produce new cardiomyocytes and regenerate lost or damaged tissues. Therefore, researchers are striving to create novel cell-based transplantation therapies for disease or injury of the heart. One recent proposal involves myocardial cell transplantation, through the injection of cultured cells into heart muscle or scar. Through the implantation of viable cells, the heart gains the ability to restore lost myocardial fibers or bolster the function of existing myopathic fibers. Additionally, researchers are developing a tissue-engineered patch that has the ability to replace a section of damaged heart muscle. The patch, consisting of cells seeded onto a bioerodible matrix designed to transmit appropriate stresses to the cells, would then permit reconstruction of functional myocardium in ischemic or dysfunctional regions of the heart.

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A program of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center