Health sciences articles within Nature Reviews Cardiology

Featured

  • Review Article |

    Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are a major contributor to death from cardiovascular disease. In this Review, Timmis and colleagues present data on mortality from ACS for 122 countries and examine the regional and temporal changes in the epidemiology of ACS over the past 20 years.

    • Adam Timmis
    • , Denis Kazakiewicz
    •  & Panos Vardas

  • Clinical Outlook |

    Contemporary tools to predict cardiovascular risk lack accuracy on an individual-patient level. The use of single-cell RNA sequencing to identify specific leukocyte patterns might overcome some of these limitations, propelling us towards a precision medicine approach.

    • Johannes Gollmer
    •  & Andreas Zirlik

  • Research Highlight |

    Hyperphosphorylation of tau in the heart reduces the tyrosination of microtubules, leading to myocardial stiffness and heart failure. This novel mechanism of diastolic dysfunction parallels the aggregation of tau in the brain that leads to Alzheimer disease and might be amenable to treatment using monoclonal antibodies against tau.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Review Article |

    Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the context of type 2 diabetes mellitus, Wong and Sattar discuss established and novel mechanisms of CVD, risk assessment and patient stratification, and strategies to reduce multiple risk factors to prevent CVD.

    • Nathan D. Wong
    •  & Naveed Sattar

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Kroemer and colleagues describe eight molecular hallmarks of cardiovascular ageing: disabled macroautophagy, loss of proteostasis, genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell senescence, dysregulated neurohormonal signalling and inflammation. Therapeutically targeting these hallmarks might attenuate residual cardiovascular risk in older individuals.

    • Mahmoud Abdellatif
    • , Peter P. Rainer
    •  & Guido Kroemer

  • Review Article |

    Pulmonary embolism is the leading cause of in-hospital death and the third most frequent cause of cardiovascular death. In this Review, Mahfoud and colleagues discuss the growing range of interventional, catheter-based approaches for the treatment of pulmonary embolism as well as risk stratification and patient selection for these procedures.

    • Felix Götzinger
    • , Lucas Lauder
    •  & Felix Mahfoud

  • Comment |

    Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is defined as an expansion of mutant blood stem cells in individuals without haematological malignancies. CHIP is linked to an increased risk of non-cancerous disorders such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, possibly because mutant innate immune cells have pro-inflammatory phenotypes. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether individuals with CHIP might benefit from anti-inflammatory therapies.

    • Herra Ahmad
    •  & Siddhartha Jaiswal

  • Comment |

    IgM antibodies have gained much attention as risk markers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but the exact antigenic determinants and the full spectrum of functions remain to be defined. A better understanding of the potentially diverse nature of the antigens that they recognize will help to dissect the function of IgM in atherosclerosis.

    • Justine Deroissart
    •  & Christoph J. Binder

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Gaillard and Jaddoe describe how maternal cardiovascular disorders, occurring before and during pregnancy, can influence cardiovascular health in the offspring from embryonic life until adulthood. Furthermore, the authors highlight critical periods for cardiovascular adaptations, including preconception, early pregnancy and infancy, and how the events occurring during these periods can have an effect on future cardiovascular health.

    • Romy Gaillard
    •  & Vincent W. V. Jaddoe

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Münzel and colleagues describe the exposome concept with a focus on environmental physical and chemical exposures and their effects on the burden of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, they discuss selected exposome studies and the relevance of the exposome concept for future health research and preventive medicine.

    • Thomas Münzel
    • , Mette Sørensen
    •  & Andreas Daiber

  • Comment |

    Lipophagy is a type of selective autophagy that targets lipid droplets for degradation. Since the discovery of lipophagy in 2009, research has uncovered a central role for this process in cellular lipid metabolism, including in atherogenic foam cells. Therefore, increasing lipophagy might be a therapeutic target to reverse lipid build-up in atherosclerosis.

    • Thomas Laval
    •  & Mireille Ouimet

  • Comment |

    Excessive salt intake is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease commonly associated with hypertension. However, we propose that a high-salt diet can promote cardiovascular and other diseases independently of high blood pressure through inflammatory pathways that increase the production of myeloid cells.

    • Man K. S. Lee
    •  & Andrew J. Murphy

  • Research Highlight |

    An artificial intelligence-guided workflow for initial evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction in echocardiography is non-inferior to initial assessment by a sonographer, according to findings from a blinded, randomized, non-inferiority clinical trial.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Review Article |

    A bidirectional relationship exists between atrial fibrillation (AF) and myocardial infarction (MI) as a result of shared risk factors and both direct and indirect mechanisms. In this Review, Frederiksen and colleagues discuss the pathogenesis, prevention and management of AF in patients with MI and of MI in patients with AF.

    • Tanja Charlotte Frederiksen
    • , Christina Catherine Dahm
    •  & Jelena Kornej

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors discuss current treatment regimens for lowering plasma LDL cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, highlight treatment gaps and challenges, as well as describe opportunities raised by novel available therapies and potential future therapeutic approaches.

    • Julia Brandts
    •  & Kausik K. Ray

  • Clinical Outlook |

    Research consistently shows that gender-affirming practices improve markers of cardiovascular health. Consequently, the focus of the management of the cardiovascular health of transgender and non-binary populations should not be on their hormone therapies and surgical histories, but should instead be rooted in the routine screening of cardiovascular risk factors.

    • Arjee Restar
    •  & Carl G. Streed Jr

  • Research Highlight |

    Desmosomal protein degradation that occurs via a mechanism involving the ubiquitin–proteasome system might underlie the development of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.

    • Karina Huynh

  • Clinical Outlook |

    Factor XIa inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials, with the assumption that these agents are as effective as direct oral anticoagulants but cause fewer bleeding events. Findings from phase II trials of direct inhibitors of factor XIa for the prevention of first-ever and recurrent ischaemic stroke or recurrent major coronary artery events suggest fewer bleeding events but with uncertainty about efficacy.

    • Bruna Gigante
    •  & Hugo ten Cate

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Gawaz and colleagues discuss the pathophysiological role of platelets in acute myocardial ischaemia, vascular inflammation and atherosclerotic progression, summarize the current clinical concepts in antiplatelet therapy and describe novel therapeutic targets for antiplatelet drugs that are currently in development.

    • Meinrad Gawaz
    • , Tobias Geisler
    •  & Oliver Borst

  • Review Article |

    Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor agonists reduce the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this Review, Ussher and Drucker discuss the possible mechanisms of cardiovascular benefit of GLP1 receptor agonists and highlight the novel GLP1-based multi-agonists currently in development.

    • John R. Ussher
    •  & Daniel J. Drucker

  • Research Highlight |

    In patients with complex coronary lesions, percutaneous coronary intervention guided by intravascular imaging improved cardiovascular outcomes compared with percutaneous coronary intervention guided by angiography.

    • Karina Huynh

  • Research Highlight |

    Tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation improved quality of life and reduced disease severity compared with medical therapy

    • Karina Huynh

  • Research Highlight |

    A wrist-worn, transdermal sensor can be used to measure plasma levels of cardiac troponin I, potentially facilitating the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Research Highlight |

    MK-0616, an oral inhibitor of PCSK9, safely and effectively lowers plasma levels of LDL cholesterol in a dose-dependent manner in patients with hypercholesterolaemia.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Research Highlight |

    Immediate complete revascularization is as safe and effective as staged complete revascularization in patients with acute coronary syndrome and multivessel disease, according to findings from the BIOVASC trial.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    In the Evolut Low Risk study, transcatheter aortic valve implantation in low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis compared favourably with surgical aortic valve replacement in terms of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke at 3 years.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Research Highlight |

    According to findings from the PULSED AF trial, pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation is associated with a very low incidence of serious procedure-related adverse events and has an effectiveness consistent with that of established thermal ablation methods.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    Findings from the STELLAR trial show that the addition of sotatercept to background therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension significantly improved exercise capacity compared with placebo.

    • Karina Huynh

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Lucia and colleagues explain why obesity is an evolutionarily novel condition, summarize the epidemiological evidence for its detrimental cardiometabolic consequences, discuss the major mechanisms involved in the association between obesity and the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, and examine the evidence for potential ‘healthy’ phenotypes associated with obesity.

    • Pedro L. Valenzuela
    • , Pedro Carrera-Bastos
    •  & Alejandro Lucia

  • Research Highlight |

    The non-nutritive sweetener erythritol, a widely used sugar substitute, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke, according to a new study.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    Findings from the DREAM-HF trial, the largest clinical trial of cell therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) to date, suggest that cardiac therapy with mesenchymal precursor cells might benefit patients with HFrEF, particularly those with inflammation.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Redline and colleagues summarize our understanding of the shared risk factors and causal links between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and cardiovascular disease and emerging knowledge on the heterogeneity of OSA. They also explore the potential role of new biomarkers for cardiovascular risk stratification in patients with OSA.

    • Susan Redline
    • , Ali Azarbarzin
    •  & Yüksel Peker

  • Clinical Outlook |

    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is defined by ventricular hypertrophy. However, the broader phenotype includes abnormal cardiomyocyte orientation (disarray), myocardial ischaemia and electrical abnormalities, which seem to manifest before overt hypertrophy. With advances in cascade genetic testing and novel therapeutic agents, the detection of subclinical HCM is a rapidly emerging priority. In this context, we outline the role of novel biomarkers, particularly quantitative perfusion and diffusion tensor MRI.

    • George Joy
    • , James C. Moon
    •  & Luis R. Lopes

  • News & Views |

    Understanding how adverse professional life experiences affect the mental well-being of cardiologists is important. An unmet and equally important need is to design and implement strategies to prevent emotional harassment and discrimination at health-care workplaces and to effectively support cardiologists who have been exposed to adverse professional life experiences. These strategies are especially needed for female, younger or divorced cardiologists.

    • Maria Panagioti
    •  & Alexander Hondkinson

  • Research Highlight |

    Adenine base editing can be used to correct a genetic variant in preclinical models of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and this approach could be applied to other monogenic cardiac diseases.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Research Highlight |

    A legally mandated preparticipation screening programme for all young people in Italy engaging in competitive sports has resulted in a very low rate of sports-related cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • Review Article |

    Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a common disorder characterized by thickening, fibrosis and mineralization of the aortic valve leaflets. In this Review, Mathieu and colleagues summarize the risk factors, genetics and molecular mechanisms involved in CAVD and the implications for treatment of the condition.

    • Louis-Hippolyte Minvielle Moncla
    • , Mewen Briend
    •  & Patrick Mathieu

  • Comment |

    Low plasma levels of HDL cholesterol are a risk factor for infection and hospitalization for infectious disease. Recent work suggests that inadequate levels of HDL particles of specific sizes — small and medium — account for this risk. In this Comment, we discuss the mechanistic implications of these observations and the methodologies used to quantify HDL size.

    • Jay W. Heinecke
    •  & W. Sean Davidson

  • Review Article |

    Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), a key enzyme for the detoxification of alcohol-derived acetaldehyde, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various types of cardiovascular disease. In this Review, Xu and colleagues present the latest evidence showing a link between the inactivating ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism and an increased or decreased risk of cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease.

    • Jian Zhang
    • , Yunyun Guo
    •  & Feng Xu

  • Research Highlight |

    Researchers have engineered a wearable device that adheres to the skin and uses ultrasound imaging and a deep learning model to produce a dynamic, real-time assessment of cardiac function.

    • Gregory B. Lim

  • News & Views |

    The STRONG-HF and COACH trials have shown a reduction in morbidity and mortality in patients with acute decompensated heart failure, for whom therapeutical options are currently limited, using two different approaches that have in common the aim of more effective treatment optimization through a better transition phase from in-hospital to outpatient care.

    • Giuseppe M. C. Rosano
    •  & Gianluigi Savarese

  • Clinical Outlook |

    The post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 present major problems for many patients, their physicians and the health-care system. They are unrelated to the severity of the initial infection, are often highly symptomatic and can occur after vaccination. Many sequelae involve cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in 30% of individuals. Prognosis is unknown, and treatment is still unsatisfactory.

    • Artur Fedorowski
    •  & Richard Sutton

  • News & Views |

    Health-care delivery is evolving, with an increased availability of consumer and medical technology-enabled diagnostic devices powered by artificial intelligence. Physicians need to evolve by deprioritizing old skills in favour of new skills in statistics and medical decision-making psychology. Technology moves fast; physicians will need to pivot and adapt quickly.

    • Rashmee U. Shah

  • Research Highlight |

    A subpopulation of cardiac-resident macrophages protect the heart against sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy by scavenging dysfunctional mitochondria ejected from cardiomyocytes; modulation or administration of these macrophages might be a potential therapeutic strategy.

    • Gregory B. Lim

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Health sciences across other nature.com journals