Heart attack scars found to conduct electricity under right conditions

Scientists from Imperial have discovered that, contrary to previous understanding, heart scar tissue can conduct electricity following a heart attack. These findings in mice, if confirmed in humans, would have major implications for heart attack survivors, and for patients with an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. An estimated 915,000 people in the UK today have had heart attacks, which deprive heart cells of oxygen, causing them to die and be replaced by scar tissue. Scar tissue has important mechanical functions in maintaining the structure of damaged hearts, but when left untreated it effectively blocks the waves of electrical current needed for the heart to beat properly. These waves of electricity roll in and out of the heart muscle - very much like waves on a sandy beach. Scar tissue acts like a boulder on the edge of the beach, blocking the waves. However, Imperial researchers have now found electrical activity in certain areas of the damaged tissue.