Two scientists named Nina Kumowski and Matthias Nahrendorf have researched a protein called neutrophils. 

It contains a resisting-like molecule, gamma, that can literally “Punch holes in the heart”

Scientists say it’s dangerous because it can cause irregular heartbeats and cause an Infarction, which means the tissue in the person is blocked from receiving blood flow, which causes the tissue to not work properly and dies. But they’re really trying to find a way to prevent cardiac death.

Nina and Matthias summarized the research by saying they found that myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden cardiac death are the most lethal complications of coronary artery disease. 

This can block your heart muscle, which is why it causes death of the heart or damage.

This leads to unstable heartbeats called ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (VT and VF), which lead to death and cardiac arrest in minutes.  Then they found what was causing this, which is called neutrophils, which cuts off the oxygen supply to the dead tissue. 

They had been studying to know how to deal with this protein; they know that inflammation (which is a response to harm) can make your heart worse, but they did not know that immune cells can cause arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) they are developing therapies to reduce the harmful proteins.  They say that this is important because cardiac death is one of the most common leading causes of mortality in the world. This mostly happens after you recover from a heart attack.

They are working to create a cure for this protein, and say that “the immune system can be harmful and helpful if we know how to take care of the heart.”

Sources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251013040341.htm

https://menafn.com/1110192190/Protein-Linked-To-Immune-Attack-May-Stop-Sudden-Death-Aft