Episode 180: Mending a Broken Heart

This week’s episode explores broken heart syndrome, cardiomyocytes, and regenerative medicine. Jonathan is joined by Sian Harding, Emeritus Professor of Cardiac Pharmacology at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College London, UK, to discuss the relationship between emotions and heart function, as well as her research into regenerative medicine, including pluripotent stem cells, gene editing, and engineered heart tissue patches.

Use the following timestamps to navigate the content in this episode:

(00.00)-Introduction

(02.25)-What led Sian to a career in cardiology?

(03.45)-Introduction to cardiomyocytes

(05.53)-How has knowledge of cardiomyocytes changed over time?

(07.46)-Broken heart syndrome

(16.31)-Regenerative medicine in cardiology

(20.18)-Engineered heart tissue patches

(24.40)-Sian’s work in the House of Commons

(27.26)-The use of stem cells in cardiology

(29.39)-Gene editing

(32.08)-Three wishes for the future of healthcare