The Lymphatic Vasculature in Cardiac Development and Ischemic Heart Disease

In recent years, the lymphatic system has received increasing attention due to the fast-growing number of findings about its diverse novel functional roles in health and disease. It is well documented that the lymphatic vasculature plays major roles in the maintenance of tissue-fluid balance, the immune response, and in lipid absorption. However, recent studies have identified an additional growing number of novel and sometimes unexpected functional roles of the lymphatic vasculature in normal and pathological conditions in different organs. Among those, cardiac lymphatics have been shown to play important roles in heart development, ischemic cardiac disease, and cardiac disorders. In this review, we will discuss some of those novel functional roles of cardiac lymphatics, as well as the therapeutic potential of targeting lymphatics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.