Protein shot to the heart

INJECTIONS of a protein can boost the heart in a similar way to exercise – and could prevent heart failure, according to researchers.

The heart usually heals badly after a heart attack, becoming overly enlarged and floppy, leading to heart failure, where it cannot pump blood as efficiently as before.

But a Canadian study has found that injecting a protein called CT1 into a damaged heart encouraged it to repair tissue and grow new blood vessels, increasing the heart’s ability to pump blood, as happens with exercise.