Heart cells keep the rhythm

Cytokine therapy post–heart attack restores the expression of gap junction proteins and thus restores electrical connections between heart cells, according to a new study by Kuhlmann and colleagues (page 87). These heart cells, with better electrical connections, are able to pump with a more normal rhythm.

Restoring the function of damaged heart tissue is a new approach to the treatment of myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks. The scar tissue from heart attacks creates a roadblock for electrical conduction and can cause the heart to beat erratically. Indeed, erratic heartbeats—or arrhythmias—are the primary cause of death in patients who have had heart attacks.

Heart attack treatments range from blood-thinning and cholesterol-lowering drugs, which reduce the likelihood of developing blocked arteries, to implanted defibrillators that shock erratically beating hearts...