Cardiac fibrosis, or scarring in the heart, has been believedfor decades to be an irreversible process that leads to functionaldisturbances of the myocardium and ultimately results in abnormalitiesof cardiac contractility (systolic dysfunction) and of relaxation(diastolic dysfunction). In fact, an axiom in cardiology hasbeen that "you cannot make a scar squeeze." A recent study byZeisberg and colleagues1 indicates that, like many "sure things"in medicine and science, we must reconsider whether the developmentof cardiac fibrosis and the untoward effects it has on cardiacfunction are indeed irreversible.
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