[The quest for protective mechanisms against cardiovascular disease]

In spite of a major risk factor burden or existing co-morbidities certain individuals seem to escape or substantially delay major clinical cardiovascular (CV) events. Besides random variation of disease onset and manifestations it is therefore likely that protective mechanisms exist to postpone or prevent disease. Such processes could involve genetic predisposition, metabolic traits, lifestyle, or other unknown factors. Definition, mapping, and characterization of true protective mechanisms for CV disease by use of omics and biomarkers together with questionnaire data, as well as cardiovascular and metabolic phenotyping in subjects "escaping" a high expected CV risk, might enable identification of potential new drug targets associated with CV protection.