Human embryonic stem cells for cardiovascular repair.

The critical loss of functional cardiomyocytes causes severe deterioration of pump function, resulting in heart failure. The possibility to regenerate or repair damaged or ischemic cardiac tissue is a great challenge for the future treatment of end-stage heart failure. As cardiomyocytes cannot be regenerated in adults, current therapeutic modalities for the treatment of end-stage heart failure are limited and include medical therapy, mechanical left ventricular assist devices, and cardiac transplantation. This review will focus on the potential use of human embryonic stem (hES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes and vascular cells, as a therapeutic tool for the treatment of myocardial infarction and end-stage heart failure.