UVA cardio researchers seek to reverse heart attack damage

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - UVA scientists are working to find a drug that could repair or even reverse damage caused by heart attacks.

Jeff Saucerman, a professor of Biomedical Engineering and Cardiovascular Medicine at UVA, is leading the charge to find a compound that could regenerate heart cells. He says this has never been done in humans.

Saucerman’s team initially tested 5,000 drugs. Now, they’ve narrowed it down to five.

“One of the central challenges about the heart, especially after a heart attack, is that the damage is permanent,” said Saucerman. “So what we’ve been asking here is, from a translational perspective, can we find potential drugs that unlock, in this case, potential to regenerate human heart cells?”

Saucerman says one of the biggest challenges in the research process has been finding a safe way to test the effects of these drugs on patients.

Though developing this drug may take many years, he says he is hopeful about the road ahead.

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