In a new mouse model of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction, cardiac neutrophils increased the likelihood of arrhythmia, whereas cardiac macrophages protected against arrhythmia. “The findings point to the notion that the immune system is integral to the cardiac electrical conduction system as well as arrhythmogenicity,” comments Ichiro Manabe (Chiba University, Japan), who was not involved in the study.

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