Advancements in treatment of heart blockages could do away with invasive bypass surgeries

Guest Kristy Red-Horse is a biologist who specializes in coronary artery development and disease. She says the latest advances in treatment of blockages could do away with invasive bypass surgeries in favor of growing new arteries using molecules like CXCL12, known to promote artery regrowth in mice. Red-Horse explains how leaps forward in medical imaging, expanding atlases of gene expressions, and new drug delivery mechanisms could someday lead to trials in humans.

But, before that day can arrive, much work remains, as Red-Horse tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.