TOWARD MOLECULAR STRATEGIES FOR HEART-DISEASE - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

The past two decades of cardiovascular biology and medicine have been based largely upon the consideration of the heart and vasculature as a n integrated physiological system, a view that has resulted in major t herapeutic advances. With the advent of developments in gene transfer, mouse and human genetics, genetic engineering of intact animals, and molecular and cellular technology, cardiovascular medicine is now on t he threshold of a molecular therapeutic era! Major steps have been tak en toward unraveling the molecular determinants of complex, integrativ e, and polygenic cardiovascular disease states, including atherogenesi s, hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and failure, congenital heart dis ease, and coronary restenosis following balloon angioplasty. Our impro ved understanding of the fundamental basis of these important cardiova scular disease processes has established a scientific foundation for d iagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic advances in the mainstream of c ardiovascular medicine.