ABSTRACT
The time when people thought that the cardiovascular system was mere pump and pipes is over. The pump function of the heart and the integrity of arteries have been found dynamically affected by a variety of factors-humoral, neuronal, and inammatory factors. In this chapter, we examine the role of inammation in heart diseases through the review of clinical and basic scientišc literature, examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of individual articles. We will focus on atherosclerosis and heart failure (HF)—the most common heart diseases. After briey reviewing the history of research on inammation and these heart diseases, we examine how the literature supports the association of both. We then evaluate whether inammation results in atherosclerosis and HF. Next, we analyze whether atherosclerosis and HF would cause inammation. Finally, we review the literature to see if the suppression of inammation halts the progression of atherosclerosis and HF at a level of either animal research or clinical trials. We found that inammation facilitates atherosclerogenesis and HF progression, that atherosclerosis and
7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 157 7.2 Inammation and Atherosclerosis ................................................................ 158
7.2.1 Association of Inammation and Atherosclerosis ............................ 158 7.2.2 Does Inammation Cause Atherosclerosis? ..................................... 162 7.2.3 Does Atherosclerosis Cause Inammation? ..................................... 163 7.2.4 Does the Modulation of Inammation Halt Atherosclerogenesis? ... 163
7.3 Inammation and Heart Failure ................................................................... 169 7.3.1 Association of Inammation and Heart Failure ............................... 169 7.3.2 Does Inammation Cause Heart Failure? ........................................ 170 7.3.3 Does Heart Failure Cause Inammation? ........................................ 171 7.3.4 Does the Modulation of Inammation Halt the Progression of
Heart Failure? ................................................................................... 172 7.4 Epilogue ........................................................................................................ 175 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 175 References .............................................................................................................. 175
HF can elicit inammation, and that the suppression of inammation in some cases retards the progression of both atherosclerosis and HF. It is possible that further research on inammation and heart diseases would lead to new strategies to treat them through modulation of specišc or general inammatory processes associated with the diseases.
