Frontiers in mathematical modelling of the lipid metabolism under normal conditions and its alterations in heart diseases

Abstract Pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease is a complex phenomenon determined by the interaction of multiple processes including the inflammatory, immunological, infectious, mechanical, biochemical and epigenetic ones. A predictive clinically relevant modelling of the entire trajectory of the human organism, from the initial alterations in lipid metabolism through to atherosclerotic plaque formation and finally to the pathologic state of the ischemic heart disease, is an open insufficiently explored problem. In the present review, we consider the existing mathematical frameworks which are used to describe, analyze and predict the dynamics of various processes related to cardiovascular diseases at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and holistic human organism level. The mechanistic, statistical and machine learning models are discussed in detail with special focus on the underlying assumptions and their clinical relevance. All together, they provide a solid computational platform for further expansion and tailoring for practical applications.