Overview
- The BMJ published results from PREVENT-TAHA8 showing that intracoronary infusion of allogenic Wharton's jelly–derived mesenchymal stem cells given 3–7 days after a first myocardial infarction reduced later heart failure events over roughly three years.
- In 396 participants at three hospitals in Iran, 136 received the stem cell infusion plus standard care and 260 received standard care alone, with an average follow-up of about 33 months.
- Event rates favored the intervention: heart failure 2.77 vs 6.48 and heart‑failure readmission 0.92 vs 4.20 per 100 person‑years, approximating 57% and 78% relative reductions, respectively.
- The therapy did not show a statistically significant effect on all‑cause or cardiovascular mortality or on readmissions for recurrent heart attack during the study period.
- Heart function improved more by six months in the treated group, but the single‑blinded design, lack of mechanistic biomarkers, and a predominantly male, 18–65 cohort limit broad applicability.