FIGURE 4.

Cardiac wound healing after MI is a balance between the breakdown of existing ECM and the construction of new ECM to form an infarct scar. Cell phenotypes transition from early pro‐inflammatory to anti‐inflammatory and then reparative polarization phenotypes, with overlap across the time continuum. Pro‐inflammatory cells clear necrotic tissue, while anti‐inflammatory cells turn off the inflammatory response and reparative cells promote scar formation and maturation through secretion of ECM and ECM‐modifying proteins. Created with Biorender.com