Current status of cellular therapy for ischemic heart disease.

Cellular therapy for acute myocardial infarction and ischemic cardiomyopathy has entered clinical trials across the globe. Early promising results have now provided the justification for larger randomized and blinded trials to address the efficacy of cellular therapy. A variety of fresh or cultured autologous cells have been delivered by catheter-guided endocardial, catheter-guided intracoronary, catheter-guided transvenous, and direct epicardial routes. This review will summarize the clinical data and highlight salient basic science data that support the ongoing efforts to identify the optimal cellular therapy both for acute myocardial infarction and chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy patients.