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Vascular inflammation as a therapeutic target for prevention of cardiovascular disease

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Conclusions

This is a dynamic and exciting time in cardiovascular medicine. Recent advances in understanding of the biologic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms involved in atherosclerosis and its acute complications have led to the identification of multiple new therapeutic targets. Inflammation is a fundamental contributor to atherosclerosis and its complications. Elevated inflammatory markers in prospective trials have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk among healthy individuals as well as those at higher risk because of the presence of other risk factors or known coronary disease. Some, but not all, standard therapies for prevention of cardiovascular disease have anti-inflammatory effects, effects that might contribute importantly to their observed clinical benefits. Specific targeting of the inflammatory process may result in improved and more effective treatments for control and prevention of cardiovascular disease. However, ultimate strategies that target inflammation will have to be developed cautiously because interference with the inflammatory process may have harmful, as well as beneficial, effects. At the present time, primary prevention and treatment of those risk factors known to initiate and propagate the disease (hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking) should remain the focus of preventive cardiovascular strategies. However promising, before specific therapies targeting the inflammatory process can become a mainstay of preventive cardiovascular strategies, additional prospective, randomized trials are necessary to test directly their benefits and safety.

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  1. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 1199, 11203, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Luther T. Clark MD

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  1. Luther T. Clark MD
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Clark, L.T. Vascular inflammation as a therapeutic target for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Curr Atheroscler Rep 4, 77–81 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-002-0027-1

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