Current Concepts in Stem Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases: What We Know and Don't Know

Medical therapies and mechanical interventions for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic heart failure have seen great progress. However, current therapies only slow the progression to heart failure, but do not stimulate regeneration to recover the loss of functional myocytes. Stem cell-based therapy is a novel modality that can potentially be used for the treatment of ischemic cardiac injury and heart failure wherein cardiac tissue is regenerated thereby improving cardiac function and reducing the morbidity and mortality of patients. Many preclinical and clinical trials have employed various types of stem cells including bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells, skeletal myoblasts, resident cardiac stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and endothelial progenitor cells, and these studies have suggested great potential for the clinical application of stem cell therapy for cardiac disease. Here we will review and summarize the current evidence indicating the potential of stem cell therapy, focusing on the clinical trials conducted to date.