SYDNEY – In a world first, Australian scientists have discovered that the human heart can regenerate muscle cells after a heart attack, raising hopes for future regenerative treatments for heart failure.

The study, published in the journal Circulation Research, found that while parts of the heart remain scarred after a heart attack, new muscle cells are also generated, a phenomenon previously seen only in mice and now demonstrated for the first time in humans, Australia’s University of Sydney announced Tuesday.

“Until now, it was thought that as heart cells die after a heart attack, that part of the heart becomes irreparably damaged, reducing the heart’s ability to pump blood to the body’s organs,” said Robert Hume, a researcher at the University of Sydney and lead author of the study.

“Eventually, we hope to develop treatments that can amplify the heart’s natural ability to generate new cells and regenerate the heart after a stroke,” said Hume, who is also director of translational research at Australia’s Baird Applied Heart and Lung Institute.

Also read: Scientists use skin cells to create human eggs

The research team achieved this breakthrough using live heart tissue samples taken from patients undergoing bypass surgery at Australia’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

“The ultimate goal is to use this discovery to create new heart cells that can reverse heart failure,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Sean Rall, a heart failure cardiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death, and a heart attack can kill a third of the cells in a human heart, the researchers said, adding that the discovery provides a promising basis for new regenerative medicine.