The muscle lost after a myocardial infarction is replaced with noncontractile scar tissue, often
initiating heart failure. Whole-organ cardiac transplantation is the only currently available
clinical means of replacing the lost muscle, but this option is limited by the inadequate
supply of donor hearts. Thus, cell-based cardiac repair has attracted considerable interest
as an alternative means of ameliorating cardiac injury. Because of their tremendous capacity
for expansion and unquestioned cardiac potential, pluripotent human embryonic stem cells …