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Cardiac-targeted delivery of advanced medical therapies for heart disease

Xiao Liu1,2,3, Yan Miao1, Shengjie Lu2,3

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

European Heart Journal
|June 12, 2026
PubMed

Insights

New cardiac-targeting delivery systems show promise for treating cardiovascular diseases (CVD). These advanced methods aim to improve drug delivery to the heart, overcoming limitations of current invasive treatments and enhancing therapeutic efficacy for CVD patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

  • Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading global cause of death, with increasing prevalence due to aging populations and risk factors like diabetes and obesity.
  • Current treatments for CVD face challenges with effective drug delivery to the heart, limiting therapeutic efficacy.
  • Existing invasive delivery methods (e.g., intramyocardial injection) and less invasive viral vectors have limitations such as invasiveness and immunogenicity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advancements in cardiac-targeting delivery systems for cardiovascular diseases.
  • To explore novel platforms for delivering medical and advanced therapies to the heart.
  • To discuss the potential and challenges of emerging cardiac delivery technologies.

Main Methods:

  • Review of state-of-the-art cardiac-targeting delivery systems.
  • Analysis of various platforms including catheter-based delivery, adeno-associated virus vectors, extracellular vesicles, microbubbles, and nanoparticles.
  • Discussion of therapeutic agents like small molecules, biologics, nucleic acid therapeutics, and gene therapies.

Main Results:

  • Emerging cardiac-targeting delivery systems offer promising approaches for localized drug delivery to the heart.
  • These systems include intracoronary delivery, cardiotropic adeno-associated viruses, extracellular vesicles, microbubbles, and nanoparticle platforms.
  • Surface modifications, cardiac-homing peptides, and membrane cloaking are key strategies to enhance targeting and efficiency.

Conclusions:

  • Advanced cardiac-targeting delivery systems hold significant potential for improving CVD treatment outcomes.
  • Overcoming challenges such as immunogenicity, off-target effects, and delivery efficiency is crucial for clinical translation.
  • These innovative systems promise more effective therapies for conditions including ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and arrhythmias.

Keywords:
Acute myocardial infarctionAdeno-associated virusCardiac-targetingExtracellular vesiclesHeart failureNanoparticles

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