Some patients with heart muscles seriously affected by coronary heart disease may soon be able to benefit from an innovative treatment. Researchers at Research Centre of the Centre hospitalier de lUniversité de Montréal(CRCHUM) and the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal will soon be evaluating the safety, feasibility and efficacy of injecting stem cells into the hearts of patients while they are undergoing coronary bypass surgery. These stem cells could improve healing of the heart and its function. The IMPACT-CABG (implantation of autologous CD133+ stem cells in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting) protocol evaluates this experimental procedure, which is for patients suffering from ischemic heart disease, in which the blood supply to the heart is decreased and associated with left ventricular dysfunction. Credit: Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal