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According to researchers, a patch containing millions of living, thriving stem cells could help repair the damage caused by a heart attack.
Sewn on the heart, the 3 cm (1 in) by 2 cm patch, grown in the lab from a sample of the patient's cells, turns into a healthy muscle.
It also releases chemicals that repair and regenerate existing heart cells.
Tests in rabbits show that it seems safe, said experts at Imperial College London at a major conference on the heart in Manchester.
Clinical trials are expected to begin in the next two years, announced the meeting of the British Cardiovascular Society.
A heart attack occurs when an obstructed artery blocks blood flow to the heart muscle, depriving it of oxygen and nutrients.
This can damage the pumping power of the heart and lead to incurable heart failure.
Heart failure affects about 920,000 people in the UK.
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Prof. Sian Harding, Imperial College London
Dr. Richard Jabbour, researcher, said, "One day, we hope to add cardiac fixes to the treatments that doctors can routinely offer people after a heart attack.
"We could prescribe one of these patches with medications for a person with heart failure, which you could take on a shelf and implant directly into a person."
Prof. Metin Avkiran, of the British Heart Foundation, who funded the research, said: "Heart failure is a debilitating life-changing disease without treatment, making daily tasks incredibly difficult.
"If we can repair the heart and help it heal, we could transform the perspectives of these people."
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