That is an amazing discovery. Imagine the joy people with diseased or weak heart muscles can feel knowing the tissue of their essential muscle can be restored. Of course there must be side effects like all drugs but this is still a fantastic find.
Fixing broken hearts through tissue engineering
The third annual Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Symposium met at the University of Alabama at Birmingham last month, a gathering of noted physicians and scientists who share the goal of creating new tissues and new knowledge that can prevent or repair heart disease and heart attacks. Ref. Source 8d.
The immune system promotes spontaneous heart regeneration. In adult mammal hearts, cardiomyoctyes do not proliferate following damage, like that caused by myocardial infarction. However, the inability to proliferate is not true for all animals, and even in mammals, cardiomyocyte proliferation is known. Source 1i.
Could humans ever regenerate a heart? A new study suggests the answer is 'yes'. A new study's findings point to potential for tweaking communication between human genes and advancing our ability to treat heart conditions and stimulate regenerative healing. Source 1r.
Indeed. The way things are going, I give even odds that I'll live to see the first functionally immortal human. We're very close to being able to deal with the factors behind aging, and getting rather close to being able to clone and/or regenerate organs as needed if they fail anyways. Perfect both, and only massive trauma can kill someone benefiting from those techniques.