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Cardiac Regeneration

Meaning

The natural or therapeutically induced process of repairing damaged heart tissue, typically following an injury such as a myocardial infarction, by replacing lost or non-functional cardiac myocytes and restoring contractile function. For decades, the adult mammalian heart was considered a terminally differentiated organ with negligible regenerative capacity, leading to scar formation and chronic heart failure after injury. Current research focuses on activating endogenous repair mechanisms or introducing exogenous cellular or molecular therapies to promote true myocardial tissue renewal. This field holds immense promise for treating cardiovascular disease.