Heart capillaries may build natural bypasses for blood flow after heart attacks
The heart powers a busy highway of arteries and vessels, providing a constant to-and-fro passage for blood. During a heart attack, this passage becomes blocked, usually when a blood clot forms on plaque in a coronary artery and cuts off blood flow to the heart muscle. A study published in Science found that the heart tries to save itself by growing new natural bypass channels to bring blood and…
When a heart attack occurs, the heart attempts to recover by forming new natural bypass channels to deliver blood and oxygen to injured tissue. A study in Science discovered that these backup vessels mostly arise from capillaries, not from older arteries. Using genetically engineered mice, researchers visualized capillaries as glowing green cells that transformed into larger arteries through a process called capillary arterialization.
This capillary-based approach could potentially provide a less invasive method to help hearts regenerate blood flow after damage.
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