The Impact of Epigenetics on Cardiovascular Disease

Mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represents a huge burden to society. It is recognized that environmental factors and individual lifestyles play important roles in disease susceptibility, but the link between these external risk factors and our genetics has been unclear. However, the discovery of sequence-independent heritable DNA changes (epigenetics) have helped us to explain the link between genes and the environment. Multiple diverse epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and the expression of non-coding RNA molecules affect the expression of genes that produce important changes in cellular differentiation and function, influencing the health and adaptability of the organism. CVDs such as congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, cardiac fibrosis, hypertension, and atherosclerosis are now being viewed as much more complex and dynamic disorders. The role of epigenetics in these and other CVDs is currently under intense scrutiny, and we can expect important insights to emerge, including novel biomarkers and new approaches to enable precision medicine. This review summarizes the recent advances in our understanding of the role of epigenetics in CVD.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author