Review Articles in 2018

Hiramoto and colleagues examine the current status of interventions for peripheral artery disease, focusing on disease staging, treatment goals, and factors that influence outcomes. Persistent unmet needs and emerging approaches (including cell-based and gene-based therapies) are also highlighted.

Adult cardiac hypertrophy initially develops as an adaptive response to an increased workload, but this physiological growth can ultimately lead to pathological hypertrophy and disease. In this Review, Nakamura and Sadoshima summarize the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of physiological and pathological hypertrophy, and discuss possible therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways to prevent or reverse pathological hypertrophy.

This Review describes the relationship between urban and transport planning and the city environment, the main cardiovascular risk factors (including physical activity, hypertension, and obesity), and cardiovascular disease and mortality. Improved city planning that promotes physical activity, reduces levels of air pollution and noise, and increases green space could decrease the burden of cardiovascular disease.

In this Review, Katritsis and colleagues discuss the major factors underlying the clinical decision to perform revascularization in patients with stable coronary artery disease and examine the use and limitations of existing evidence on the choice for, and preferred methods of, revascularization, namely, CABG surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention.

In this Review, Serruys and colleagues describe the pathophysiology of unprotected left main coronary artery disease, discuss novel diagnostic approaches in light of new imaging techniques, and describe risk stratification models to help in the decision-making process for determining the best revascularization strategy in these patients.

Novel antisense oligonucleotide and small interfering RNA technology can be used to reduce levels of lipoproteins that cause cardiovascular disease. In this Review, Nordestgaard and colleagues describe the principles of these gene-silencing approaches and summarize the trials that have tested the efficacy of these approaches in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Nitric oxide (NO) signalling has pleiotropic roles in biology and a crucial function in cardiovascular homeostasis. In this Review, Balligand and colleagues summarize the updated paradigms on NO synthase regulation, NO interaction with reactive oxidant species in specific subcellular compartments, and downstream effects of NO in target cardiovascular tissues under both physiological and pathological conditions.

Heart failure has emerged as the most common cardiovascular complication among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this Review, Nassif and Kosiborod describe the detrimental, neutral, or even beneficial effects of different classes of glucose-lowering medications on heart failure outcomes.

The non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) include direct inhibitors of factor Xa or thrombin. In this Review, Levy and colleagues describe the mechanism of action of the NOAC-reversal strategies, provide guidance on potential indications for reversal, and offer a management approach for patients treated with NOACs who present with serious bleeding or require urgent surgery.

Antiplatelet drugs are routinely used for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis, but also carry an inherent increased risk of bleeding. In this Review, McFadyen and colleagues assess the differences between thrombosis and haemostasis in the context of currently available antiplatelet drugs as well as novel antiplatelet agents that are entering preclinical and early-phase clinical testing.