International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Dear Colleagues,

Heart failure is a clinical syndrome caused by several structural and/or functional abnormalities. There is no single pathology underlying the basis of heart failure. Identification of the aetiology of heart failure is mandatory and it determines subsequent treatment. If pathophysiological mechanisms underlying specific respective heart failures are known, it will open new opportunities of appropriate therapies and may result in reducing the mortality of heart failure. Inherited genetic/familial cardiomyopathies are specified forms of heart failure. Finding a molecular basis for the development of heart failure, especially in people with a pathogenic gene variant, in patients with cardiomyopathy will allow better prediction of the disease outcomes and progression. Different forms of regulated cell death are implicated in the pathogenesis of heart failure. Ferroptosis is one of these pathways that contribute to heart failure.

This Special Issue, entitled “Heart Failure: From Molecular Pathology to Novel Therapeutic Approach”, seeks high-quality research articles that serve to highlight the key role of molecular mechanisms in heart failure and extends to therapies used to treat this condition.

Dr. Barbara Sosnowska-Pasiarska
Guest Editor

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Keywords

heart failure
cardiomyopathy
molecular mechanisms
signalling mechanisms
regulated cell death
fibrosis
pathophysiology
pharmacological targets

Published Papers (1 paper)

Review

37 pages, 2373 KiB

Open AccessReview

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: The Pathophysiological Mechanisms behind the Clinical Phenotypes and the Therapeutic Approach

by Laurențiu Stoicescu, Dana Crişan, Claudiu Morgovan, Lucreţia Avram and Steliana Ghibu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(2), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25020794 - 08 Jan 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1867

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is an increasingly frequent form and is estimated to be the dominant form of HF. On the other hand, HFpEF is a syndrome with systemic involvement, and it is characterized by multiple cardiac and extracardiac pathophysiological alterations. The increasing prevalence is currently reaching epidemic levels, thereby making HFpEF one of the greatest challenges facing cardiovascular medicine today. Compared to HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), the medical attitude in the case of HFpEF was a relaxed one towards the disease, despite the fact that it is much more complex, with many problems related to the identification of physiopathogenetic mechanisms and optimal methods of treatment. The current medical challenge is to develop effective therapeutic strategies, because patients suffering from HFpEF have symptoms and quality of life comparable to those with reduced ejection fraction, but the specific medication for HFrEF is ineffective in this situation; for this, we must first understand the pathological mechanisms in detail and correlate them with the clinical presentation. Another important aspect of HFpEF is the diversity of patients that can be identified under the umbrella of this syndrome. Thus, before being able to test and develop effective therapies, we must succeed in grouping patients into several categories, called phenotypes, depending on the pathological pathways and clinical features. This narrative review critiques issues related to the definition, etiology, clinical features, and pathophysiology of HFpEF. We tried to describe in as much detail as possible the clinical and biological phenotypes recognized in the literature in order to better understand the current therapeutic approach and the reason for the limited effectiveness. We have also highlighted possible pathological pathways that can be targeted by the latest research in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heart Failure: From Molecular Pathology to Novel Therapeutic Approach)

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