Team elucidates molecular pathway driving maladaptive processes in heart failure, making way for new therapies

Under stress, the human heart struggles to pump blood efficiently through the body. Over time, as the heart overexerts itself trying to make up for this lost efficiency, harmful changes take place. The most worrisome of these changes is a form of maladaptive growth known as cardiac hypertrophy, which eventually leads to heart failure—a condition in which the heart progressively loses its ability to pump blood.
Under stress, the human heart struggles to pump blood efficiently through the body. Over time, as the heart overexerts itself trying to make up for this lost efficiency, harmful changes take place. The most worrisome of these changes is a form of maladaptive growth known as cardiac hypertrophy, which eventually leads to heart failure—a condition in which the heart progressively loses its ability to pump blood.