World's First Cure For Heart Attacks Discovered

The mRNA (messenger RNA) technology that's used to develop the Covid Vaccine is now being used to cure heart attacks. UK scientists have discovered the world's first cure for heart attacks using mRNA. mRNA is a type of RNA that is necessary for protein production. After a heart attack, the human heart does not heal itself. So this new technique, called genetic tracking, can help new heart cells replace the dead cells and the patient will have new muscle tissues instead of forming scars.

Genetic tracking is built on the same technology used to create Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The King's College London tracked genetic codes called mRNA which is injected into the heart to produce proteins that would generate healthy heart cells.

"We are all born with a set number of muscle cells in our heart and they are exactly the same ones we will die with. The heart has no capacity to repair itself after a heart attack. Our goal has been to find a treatment that can convince surviving cells to proliferate. Regenerating a damaged human heart has been a dream until a few years ago, but can now become a reality," said Lead researcher Professor Mauro Giacca. 

"We are using exactly the same technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inject micro RNAs to the heart, reaching surviving heart cells and pushing their proliferation. In addition to helping hearts regenerate, they also working towards a treatment to stop cells dying during a heart attack," he added.

Giacca's team is based at the British Heart Foundation Centre for Research Excellence at King's College London.