McGill research team pioneering stem cell therapy for heart disease treatment [Video]

In the heart of the McGill University Health Centre’s research institute, Dr. Renzo Cecere and his team are revolutionizing the future of cardiac care.

Using stem cell science, the researchers are giving new hope to patients with heart disease failed by current treatments.

“We think we’ll have a major impact on the quality of life of many patients,” said Cecere, a heart surgeon.

According to Cecere, 10 to 20 per cent of patients with heart failure have arrhythmia. That means their hearts beat too fast, or too slow.

Sometimes, that can be life-threatening.

His team’s goal is to create custom cures for those patients, so they can have a regular rhythm.

“We really have this dream and this desire to be able to impact patients who have been disappointed on numerous occasions,” Cecere said.

One of the therapies they’re looking into is exposing patients to targeted low doses of radiation.

First, they take a patient’s …