Cardiometabolism

Cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are a group of pathologies that affect the heart and blood vessels. The occurrence of cardiovascular events is associated with genetic and environmental factors. Within the group of environmental factors, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol, hypertension, alcohol consumption and metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity are becoming increasingly important. For this reason, a new line of cardometabolism is born in the ICREC research group. This research line is focused on the study of the relationship between metabolic diseases and cardiac pathology.

Metabolic diseases as a cardiovascular risk factor

Heart failure is a very heterogeneous disease and for this reason, there is a need for further research to advance the knowledge. The studies of the last decade have established the relationship between metabolic changes and heart damage. This fact has been confirmed at the clinical level, where it has been observed that the presence of metabolic diseases in patients with heart failure is associated with worse heart function. Specifically, it has been described that metabolic diseases are associated with chronic inflammation, alterations in the immune system, changes in the energy substrate and an increase in oxidative stress in different organs including the heart. All these changes have a high impact causing cardiac remodelling and function alterations.
In the last years, metabolic diseases have become a public health problem due to the exponential increasing incidence in the world population. As a consequence, is also expected a huge increase in heart failure patients in the coming years. Due to this situation, the challenge of the new line in cardiometabolism is to study the mechanisms of action involved in the occurrence of cardiac damage. Thereby new therapeutic targets can be identified to combat the onset of heart failure. In summary, the objective of this research line is to help in the clinical management of patients with heart failure and to improve their quality of life.

Factors and pathologies that contribute to the appearance of cardiovascular diseases.