Human stem cells for modeling heart disease and for drug discovery.

A major research focus in the field of cardiovascular medicine is the prospect of using stem cells and progenitor cells for cardiac regeneration. With the advent of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, major efforts are also underway to use iPSCs to model heart disease, to screen for new drugs, and to test candidate drugs for cardiotoxicity. Here, we discuss recent advances in the exciting fields of stem cells and cardiovascular disease.