Cardiovascular disease and miRNA

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality and rising healthcare expenditure worldwide. Although significant progress has been made in the management of CVD, there remains a critical need for non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and newer therapeutics to identify early disease and improve outcomes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, endogenous, conserved, single-stranded non-coding molecules crucially regulated in all human biological processes and their dysregulation is directly involved in various CVD, including stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Research has identified several circulating miRNAs that have potential roles as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in CVD with expression profiles that may be used as promising therapeutic targets. This review discusses the evolving molecular and clinical roles of miRNAs in CVD.