Hope for a broken heart?

Heart failure affects 23 million people worldwide and results from cardiac dysfunction characterized by decreased responsiveness to β-adrenergic stimulation. A recent publication by W.J. Koch and colleagues highlights evidence for targeted β-adrenergic receptor kinase (βARK1) inhibition by gene transfer to improve contractile function and β-adrenergic responsiveness in failing human myocardium. This proof-of-concept study has great importance for future heart failure therapy because it provides evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of βARK1 inhibition in failing human myocardium.