February 22, 2021Open Access
View Full PaperThe vasculature: a therapeutic target in heart failure?
Key Result
Restoring a healthy endothelium and microcirculation through novel approaches like pro-angiogenic therapies and non-coding RNAs may be a valuable therapeutic strategy to treat heart failure.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction
I
Intervention
Novel therapeutic approaches targeting the vasculature (pro-angiogenic therapies, non-coding RNA therapeutics, targeting metabolites, vascular inflammation, senescence)
Restoring a healthy endothelium and microcirculation may be a valuable therapeutic strategy to treat heart failure.
Abstract
It is well established that the vasculature plays a crucial role in maintaining oxygen and nutrients supply to the heart. Increasing evidence further suggests that the microcirculation has additional roles in supporting a healthy microenvironment. Heart failure is well known to be associated with changes and functional impairment of the microvasculature. The specific ablation of protective signals in endothelial cells in experimental models is sufficient to induce heart failure. Therefore, restoring a healthy endothelium and microcirculation may be a valuable therapeutic strategy to treat heart failure. This review article will summarize the current understanding of the vascular contribution to heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Novel therapeutic approaches including next generation pro-angiogenic therapies and non-coding RNA therapeutics, as well as the targeting of metabolites or metabolic signalling, vascular inflammation and senescence will be discussed.