Promises and pitfalls in cell replacement therapy for heart failure

Symptomatic heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome with a poor prognosis. Many efforts have been made to develop new therapeutic strategies to improve prognosis associated with HF. In this context, different stem-cell populations for cardiac regenerative therapy have been examined recently. Here we discuss the potential strategies for using stem cells in cardiac regenerative therapy and the barriers that remain before an effective cell-based cardiac regenerative therapy can be employed clinically.