The Pathophysiology, Diagnostic Approach and Therapeutic Management of Ischemic Heart Disease: From Simple to Complex

Dear Colleagues,

Despite continuous progress in its screening and therapeutic approaches, coronary artery disease (CAD) still emerges as the leading cause for the development and progression of heart failure (HF). The classic integrative strategy of these pathologies focuses on the use of multiple diagnostic tools: clinical, imaging, and biological, followed by both pharmacological and invasive guideline-directed therapeutic management.

Additionally, the complex interplay between CAD and HF is also mirrored by the increasing number of patients presenting with myocardial ischemia and necrosis, but without angiographically significant coronary lesions. In these patients, the pathogenesis as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are different from CAD with obstructive coronary arteries; therefore, the use of novel techniques (intracoronary imaging, invasive hemodynamic assessment, or cardiac multimodality imaging) is of paramount importance for a timely diagnosis and targeted treatment. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we aim to depict various pathophysiological, clinical, biological, and therapeutical aspects of both obstructive CAD and myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA).

A topic of particular interest in this Special Issue is represented by cardiac biomarkers as an integral part of the diagnostic algorithm in CAD. Various classic or novel molecules may provide an objective insight into the pathophysiological imbalances induced by myocardial ischemia, devoid of the subjectivity of patient symptoms, or the often equivocal and operator-dependent imaging aspects.

We aim to update the information on the challenging approach for patients with HF due to CAD; therefore, we welcome all submissions (original research articles or reviews) related to this topic, with a special focus on novel or innovative diagnostic or therapeutic instruments.

Dr. Radu-Stefan Miftode
Prof. Dr. Ionela Lacramioara Serban
Prof. Dr. Antoniu Octavian Petris
Prof. Dr. Irina Iuliana Costache
Guest Editors

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• ischemic heart disease
• acute heart failure
• cardiac biomarkers
• antithrombotic therapy
• percutaneous coronary intervention