Overactive immune cells can worsen heart failure – targeting them could offer new treatments

Approaching heart failure like an autoimmune condition could offer new ways to improve patient survival.

By: Shyam Bansal, Penn State, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 5, 2026

Words: 613

Last Updated: 1 month, 1 week ago

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By Shyam Bansal, Penn State

Around 64 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, and nearly half die within the first five years of diagnosis due to a lack of effective treatments to stop the disease from getting worse.

Heart failure occurs when the heart’s ability to pump blood drops to less than 40%. Most available treatments tend to focus on reducing the effort necessary for the heart to pump blood, rather than tackling …

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