{"title":"Sleep and exercise can limit clonal haematopoiesis clone expansion and reduce associated atherosclerosis","authors":"Karina Huynh","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01318-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01318-3","url":null,"abstract":"A study in Nature reports that in mice, healthy lifestyle behaviours, including exercise and uninterrupted sleep, can limit clone expansion in clonal haematopoiesis and promote the phenotypic reprogramming of clonal haematopoiesis mutant cells, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"532-532"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148299019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Donato Santovito, Dorothee Atzler, Christian Weber
{"title":"Epigenetic regulation in atherosclerosis and its therapeutic potential.","authors":"Donato Santovito, Dorothee Atzler, Christian Weber","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01313-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-026-01313-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Beyond genetic predisposition, epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, have an integral role in the development, progression and complications of atherosclerosis. Global and locus-specific changes in DNA methylation regulate cell proliferation and inflammatory activation, whereas histone post-transcriptional modifications (primarily acetylation and methylation) regulate atherosclerosis-related gene networks relevant to lipid metabolism, cell plasticity and inflammation. Long non-coding RNAs further modulate vascular remodelling by shaping cell-specific transcriptomes and guiding epigenetic enzymes and their activity, whereas microRNAs exert post-transcriptional gene regulation and non-canonical functions. In this Review, we provide an overview of epigenetic regulation in atherosclerosis, focusing on how these dynamic, reversible modifications orchestrate gene expression in vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and immune cells. We highlight how technological advances and the integration of multimodal datasets have progressed this research field and describe the cell-specific contributions of genetically associated loci. Finally, we discuss preclinical study findings and the translational efforts towards the development of epigenetic drugs as promising interventions to attenuate atherosclerotic plaque progression and inflammation, shedding light on the challenges of specificity, delivery and long-term safety. Achieving clinical applicability will enable precision medicine approaches to transform atherosclerosis therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148283987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Atsuko Imai-Okazaki, Liming Pei, Douglas C Wallace
{"title":"Mitochondrial cardiomyopathy: bridging molecular mechanisms and clinical frontiers.","authors":"Atsuko Imai-Okazaki, Liming Pei, Douglas C Wallace","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01301-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-026-01301-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Genetic cardiomyopathies caused by pathogenic variants in nuclear DNA (nDNA) that encodes contractile sarcomere proteins are among the best understood of all the cardiomyopathies. By contrast, mitochondrial cardiomyopathy is caused by a dysfunction in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation due to pathogenic variants in either nDNA or the maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Unlike contractile protein defects, which generally follow predictable Mendelian inheritance patterns, mitochondrial cardiomyopathy is genetically complex as a result of the distinctive characteristics of the mitochondrial genome, which influence patterns of maternal inheritance, heteroplasmy and tissue-specific variations in mtDNA variant load. Both single-gene nDNA and mtDNA variants can impair cardiac energetics, resulting in a wide clinical spectrum ranging from severe, childhood-onset to milder, adult-onset cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, the intricate metabolic demands of the heart mean that mitochondrial dysfunction can be influenced by a broad array of genetic and environmental modifiers. A greater recognition of these complexities and the integration of genomic sequencing, novel biomarkers and functional imaging have advanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Emerging treatment strategies, such as metabolic supplementation, gene therapy and genome editing, are under investigation. In this Review, we synthesize the molecular and clinical landscape of mitochondrial cardiomyopathy, highlighting the ongoing challenges and prospects of precision medicine in this rapidly evolving field.</p>","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gokul Parameswaran, Salil V. Deo, Sanjay Rajagopalan
{"title":"Climate change, food system disruption and future cardiometabolic disease burden","authors":"Gokul Parameswaran, Salil V. Deo, Sanjay Rajagopalan","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01310-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01310-x","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is systematically degrading the quality, diversity and nutritional composition of global food systems, yet the cardiometabolic consequences of these disruptions are rarely discussed. We examine the dietary pathways through which climate change could drive cardiometabolic disease and explain why the field of preventive cardiology can no longer afford to ignore them.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"525-526"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pierre Sabouret, Domenico Mario Giamundo, Luigi Sparafora, Stefano Figliozzi, Mamas A. Mamas, Giulio Stefanini, Elad Asher, Giuseppe Andò, Roger Blumenthal, Dan Atar
{"title":"Coronary artery calcium on chest CT scans: from incidental finding to mandatory reporting","authors":"Pierre Sabouret, Domenico Mario Giamundo, Luigi Sparafora, Stefano Figliozzi, Mamas A. Mamas, Giulio Stefanini, Elad Asher, Giuseppe Andò, Roger Blumenthal, Dan Atar","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01317-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01317-4","url":null,"abstract":"Coronary artery calcium visible on routine, low-dose, non-contrast, chest computed tomography (CT) scans provides clinically relevant information about cardiovascular risk, without additional radiation exposure or cost. Mandatory systematic reporting of coronary artery calcium findings, supported by artificial intelligence and standardized workflows, could transform and elevate an often-overlooked, incidental finding into a practical tool in preventive cardiovascular care.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 9","pages":"612-614"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148278101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shaun Khanna, Gurkeerat Mann, Aditya Bhat, Andrew Lin, Anushka Patel, Stephen J Nicholls, Andrew Sindone, Damini Dey, Deepak L Bhatt, Clare Arnott, Thomas H Marwick, Nitesh Nerlekar
{"title":"Role of systemic and epicardial adipose tissue in cardiometabolic disease.","authors":"Shaun Khanna, Gurkeerat Mann, Aditya Bhat, Andrew Lin, Anushka Patel, Stephen J Nicholls, Andrew Sindone, Damini Dey, Deepak L Bhatt, Clare Arnott, Thomas H Marwick, Nitesh Nerlekar","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01304-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01304-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adipose tissue is increasingly recognized as an immunological and metabolic organ composed of multiple specialized depots that exert diverse effects on cardiometabolic health. Beyond total adiposity, the distribution and phenotypic state of regional adipose tissue depots, including visceral, subcutaneous and epicardial adipose tissue, contribute to shaping overall cardiovascular risk. These depots communicate with the vasculature and myocardium through endocrine, paracrine, vasocrine and neural pathways to mediate cardiovascular inflammation and remodelling. Advances in cardiac CT, MRI, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and artificial intelligence technologies in the past 5 years have resulted in highly reproducible measurements of adipose tissue volume, quality, density and radiomics. Emerging multiomics data now reveal how specific adipose tissue patterns correspond to pathways of inflammation and the development of cardiovascular disease. In this Review, we synthesize the current evidence across adipose depots, highlighting how their collective biology, more so than quantity alone, shapes cardiometabolic risk. Furthermore, we highlight emerging insights into adipose depot-specific biology, imaging phenotyping, ethnicity-related and sex-related differences, and potential therapeutic modulation. We also introduce the 'unified adipose tissue' model that conceptualizes all adipose tissue depots as components of a unified system, in which the biology rather than the total mass of adipose tissue drives cardiometabolic disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148265431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heart rate monitoring during everyday use of smartphones","authors":"Gregory B. Lim","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01316-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01316-5","url":null,"abstract":"Researchers have developed a deep learning system that uses short videos of the face passively recorded during everyday use of smartphones to monitor heart rate and resting heart rate. The system was validated under laboratory and free-living conditions and across a range of skin tones.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"531-531"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148258842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Promising results with stem-cell-derived tissue transplantation in heart failure","authors":"Irene Fernández-Ruiz","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01315-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01315-6","url":null,"abstract":"In patients with advanced, symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction refractory to guideline-directed therapy, transplantation of a tissue allograft produced from induced pluripotent stem cells promotes heart remuscularization and leads to increases in heart wall thickness, left ventricular ejection fraction and quality of life at 3 months, according to an interim analysis of the ongoing, phase I–II BioVAT-HF clinical trial.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"533-533"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148211863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The direction of cardiomyocyte growth is orchestrated by microtubule dynamics","authors":"Irene Fernández-Ruiz","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01311-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01311-w","url":null,"abstract":"A new study shows that the microtube network directs cardiomyocyte growth through two mechanisms: by redirecting the localization of mRNA and protein synthesis and by modifying the intercalated disc, the site of cell–cell adhesion at the ends of the cardiomyocyte.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"530-530"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148163748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Babu Karavadra, Keerthana Anand, Abi Merriel, Eduard Shantsila
{"title":"Management and long-term surveillance of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy","authors":"Babu Karavadra, Keerthana Anand, Abi Merriel, Eduard Shantsila","doi":"10.1038/s41569-026-01309-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41569-026-01309-4","url":null,"abstract":"Hypertensive disorders experienced during pregnancy can continue to increase cardiovascular risk after childbirth. However, adequate follow-up (including blood pressure management, risk stratification and cardiometabolic prevention) is not always incorporated into postpartum care. A life-course pathway that integrates surveillance and targeted interventions could reduce inequities and improve long-term cardiovascular outcomes.","PeriodicalId":18976,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Cardiology","volume":"23 8","pages":"527-528"},"PeriodicalIF":50.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148055727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}