Healing hearts after a heart attack

Dr. Emilio Alarcón is developing breakthrough therapies to repair damaged hearts and keep them beating, thanks to funding from Heart & Stroke Foundation.

"After a heart attack, the heart is most likely to be left with damage," says Dr. Emilio Alarcón, principal investigator at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. "The body is a living organism that works hard to heal us after injury. That's precious energy we want to protect."

Dr. Alarcón's team has been working tirelessly on therapeutic approaches to support this healing and improve cardiac function. Over the past several years, he and his team developed biodegradable materials delivered to the heart muscle, to help restore its capacity to beat.

But in 2024, a new therapeutic approach emerged: an engineered peptide-based material that has the power to safely deliver cargo molecules to the heart.

This new generation of synthesized materials was engineered in a lab but inspired by nature. These materials, smaller than a human cell, mimic what's naturally found in the heart, like collagen, to restore and regenerate. This goes beyond keeping the heart beating mechanically — it heals the heart's natural function.

Breakthroughs such as these can continue and lives will be saved as a result. Sign to support this crucial research.