Surrounded by unhealthy foods rich in cholesterol and leading lives with chronically high levels of stress, the global population has been progressively becoming more prone to the development of cardiovascular disease. This has led to an increased incidence of myocardial infarctions (MI), or heart attacks, and eventual cardiac failure. Indeed, current research indicates that:

• Ischemic heart disease, characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart tissue, is the primary cause of death throughout the world, including in most low-income nations

• In the United States, cardiovascular disease results in 1 death every 39 seconds

• Approximately 1 million MIs occur per year in the United States and 5 million patients have chronic heart failure

• Although implementation of timely reperfusion (the opening of blocked coronary arteries) has saved a large number of lives, most patients go on to develop ventricular dysfunction and/or heart failure due to the persistence of damaged heart tissue

• Heart failure substantially increases risk for subsequent MIs and eventual death, but the majority of patients do not respond satisfactorily to current medications

• Stem cell therapy is an option but...