Understanding Cardiac Muscle Death
When Blood Flow Stops, Muscle Dies
During a heart attack (myocardial infarction), a blood clot blocks a coronary artery, cutting off oxygen to a region of cardiac muscle. Within minutes, cardiomyocytes - the specialized heart muscle cells - begin dying. Unlike many other tissues in your body that can regenerate, adult heart muscle has almost zero ability to regrow.
The dead tissue is replaced with scar tissue - fibrous material that doesn't contract. The larger the infarcted area, the greater the loss of cardiac function. Many survivors develop heart failure - where the damaged heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
For decades, management meant medication and lifestyle changes, but no true regeneration. Then researchers discovered something remarkable: certain peptides could actually trigger cardiac cell growth and angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) even in damaged hearts.
"Your heart doesn't have to be permanently damaged."
Emerging peptide therapies offer the first real chance at genuine cardiac regeneration. These aren't Band-Aids - they're approaches that may actually restore some cardiac muscle function lost to infarction.