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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of mortality globally. Although substantial advances have been made in the diagnosis, management, and risk stratification of CAD, there is still a need for novel diagnostic biomarkers and new therapeutic targets to prevent the epidemic of the disease. Recently, growing evidence has linked dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) to cardiovascular diseases, including CAD. miRNAs are endogenous, stable, single-stranded, short, non-coding RNAs, and may have utility as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for CAD. Dysregulated miRNAs are involved in regulating lipid and glucose homeostasis pathways, reninangiotensin- aldosterone pathways, inflammation, endothelial and vascular smooth cell phenotypes promoting atherosclerotic plaque development, progression, and instability. Additionally, miRNAs are stable and easily accessible in the extracellular space, may reside in microvesicles, and are detectable in serum or plasma, making them attractive biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular disease. Accumulating studies suggest that miRNAs could be useful biomarkers for early discrimination of patients presenting with myocarditis or Takotsubo syndrome from those with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, early prognostication of patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes, and accurate detection of left ventricular remodeling after a chronic or acute ischemic event. Moreover, miRNAs represent potential novel therapeutic targets for CAD or other cardiovascular diseases. This review provides an overview of the effects of the entire spectrum of CAD, its major risk factors, and complications on levels of circulating miRNAs, as well as the limitations and challenges of their potential clinical applications., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of morbimortality with different etiopathogenesis and prognosis between men and women. This review provides a brief overview of gender-based differences in response to pharmacological therapies of heart failure with or without reduced ejection fraction (EF). It focuses on the differences in therapy outcomes with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), angiotensin neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI), beta-adrenergic blockers, mineralocorticoid/ aldosterone receptor antagonists, diuretics, ivabradine and digoxin. The baseline data originate from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and large registries. We conclude that current guidelines recommending similar therapeutic approaches for both men and women are appropriate, while additional consideration should be given to different approaches regarding the use of ARBs, ACEi, and digoxin. Based on the available data, the ARBs might be considered a first-line therapy of HR for women instead of ACEi. Moreover, female patients should have stricter digoxin monitoring due to higher sensitivity and increased risk of complications. Finally, women are underrepresented in current clinical trials, and therefore future trials should aim to balance the gender recruitment disparity allowing sub-group analysis and comparisons between genders to guide individualised therapeutic strategies and appropriately targeted preventative steps., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Subjects affected by ischemic heart disease with non-obstructive coronary arteries constitute a population that has received increasing attention over the past two decades. Since the first studies with coronary angiography, female patients have been reported to have non-obstructive coronary artery disease more frequently than their male counterparts, both in stable and acute clinical settings. Although traditionally considered a relatively infrequent and low-risk form of myocardial ischemia, its impact on clinical practice is undeniable, especially when it comes to infarction, where the prognosis is not as benign as previously assumed. Unfortunately, despite increasing awareness, there are still several questions left unanswered regarding diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment. The purpose of this review is to provide state of the art update on the current evidence available on gender differences in clinical characteristics, management and prognosis of ischemic heart disease with non-obstructive coronary arteries, both in the acute and stable clinical settings., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Vasospastic angina is an important cause of chest pain due to coronary artery vasospasm that is related to poor quality of life and can lead to myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and death. Since its first description as "Prinzmetal or variant angina" which was believed to be a focal spam that occurred in non-obstructed epicardial coronary arteries, physician and researchers were gradually confronted with the clinical reality and came to the conclusion that the coronary artery vasospasm was considerably more polymorphic than initially described. Although mechanism leading to vasospastic angina is not completely understood, nowadays the medical community acknowledges that it exhibits a large variability in clinical practice ranging from focal to diffuse epicardial vasospasm. Main proposed mechanisms are impairment of parasympathetic activity, coronary vascular and microvascular dysfunction due to blunted response to nitric oxide endothelium-dependent coronary vasodilatation, increased release of vasoconstricts, and oxidative stress., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)