Possible advance in heart advance treatment

Scientists in Canada believe they've made a significant advance in the treatment of heart disease.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal have managed to get rats to grow completely new tissue inside their living hearts, using special stem cells taken from the animals' bone marrow.

The researchers hope that similar technology can ultimately be used in humans so they can regrow heart tissue damaged by heart attacks and strokes.

At present, such damage can only be treated by major surgery such as transplants and bypass operations. About fifteen million people are thought to die from cardiovascular diseases each year.

They are among the main causes of death in the developed world.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service