Systems Medicine as a Transforming Tool for Cardiovascular Genetics

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases represent one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease is complex and remains elusive. Remarkable progress in deciphering the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease has been achieved in different fields of research, ranging from basic-experimental research to molecular epidemiology to clinical research. Each of these isolated fields have successfully improved the pathophysiological understanding in cardiovascular disease. Within the last years, systems medicine has emerged to study the complex genetic, molecular, and physiological interactions leading to cardiovascular diseases by integrating and combining multilevel data sets from different research fields. This chapter provides an overview of the current understanding of systems medicine and the computational and epidemiological tools applied. First, applications of systems medicine in cardiovascular research are described and challenges and opportunities that arise with systems medicine as a promising tool for cardiovascular genetics are discussed.