Stem cell therapy may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in certain heart failure patients, study shows.

Cell therapy, involving adult stem cells from bone marrow, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in severe heart failure patients, according to a new study. A single administration of adult stem cells directly into an inflamed heart, through a catheter, could result in a long-term 58% reduced risk of heart attack or stroke among heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, meaning they have a weakened heart muscle, suggests the study, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The study is being called the largest clinical trial of cell therapy to date in patients with heart failure, a serious condition that occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.