5 September 2013 Last updated at 13:15 ET

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Carol Gedda: 'It could improve the heart muscle. I'm really pleased to be part of it.'

It is 18 months since Carol Gedda suffered a massive heart attack. It left her with just 20% of her heart functioning.

"I have a lot of trouble with stairs, and sometimes I can even run out of breath in a conversation", says Mrs Gedda, who is 65.

She is one of at least 750,000 people in the UK with heart failure. It occurs when the heart is damaged and becomes unable to pump blood adequately.

There are treatments for the condition but nothing so far that can reverse the damage.

Mrs Gedda, from Essex, is among 200 patients being enrolled on a gene therapy trial to test whether introducing genetic material into damaged heart cells can improve their function.

Researchers at Imperial College London found that levels of the protein SERCA2a are lower in patients with heart failure.

Royal Brompton Hospital in London, where Mrs Gedda is being treated, is one of only two British centres taking part in the international study, The Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Glasgow is also involved.

See more here:
Heart gene therapy trial begins

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