Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 02 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01357-wSodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF), but the direct cardiac effects of these drugs remain incompletely understood. Recent evidence has identified pantothenate kinase 1 (PANK1) as a direct cardiac target of SGLT2 inhibitors, whereby PANK1 activation can restore coenzyme A availability and myocardial metabolic capacity. This finding highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting the PANK1–coenzyme A axis in patients with HF.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 27 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01334-3Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and death. In this Review, Bikdeli and colleagues summarize the available evidence on the worldwide incidence and outcomes of VTE, specifically deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Their findings reveal a substantial and, in some regions, increasing burden of disease, sources of heterogeneity and striking regional gaps in the data.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01355-yMarcos Castro-Guarda and Jolanda van der Velden describe one of the earliest studies demonstrating the feasibility of generating human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01353-0Data from the ACACIA-HCM trial show that treatment with the myosin inhibitor aficamten improves exercise capacity and patient-reported health status compared with placebo in patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 15 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01351-2In patients with symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation, transcatheter tricuspid repair in addition to medical therapy not only improves quality of life compared with medical therapy alone, but also significantly reduces the risk of all-cause death and hospitalization for heart failure, according to the results from the investigator-initiated TRIC-I-HF-DZHK24 trial.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 15 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01352-1Zila-Velasque discusses the initial studies linking high-altitude hypoxia to the risk of congenital heart defects.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 15 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01350-3Pulmonary artery denervation lowers the risk of clinical worsening in patients with pulmonary hypertension caused by left-sided heart disease and associated with heart failure who remain symptomatic despite treatment with guideline-directed medical therapy, according to findings from the PADN-HF-PH trial.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01349-wTobias Lerchner and Stephane Heymans discuss the study that provided seminal evidence linking genetic variation to susceptibility to acute myocarditis.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 03 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01347-yLudmila Caceva discusses the 1970s studies that revealed that the plasma lipid prolife of the Inuit population of Greenland, who had a low incidence of cardiovascular disease, was characterized by low levels of cholesterol, lipoproteins and triglycerides and high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and how these findings shaped dietary guidelines worldwide.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01346-zIn this Tools of the Trade, Ackers-Johnson and Pavlovic describe a Langendorff-free approach to isolate cardiomyocytes without the technical hurdles associated with the conventional Langendorff perfusion procedure.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01342-3Intravascular ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography can be used to guide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this Review, Räber and colleagues discuss the results of eight large clinical trials in which these modalities were compared with angiography only and clarify why, when, how and which intracoronary imaging modality to use to guide complex PCI.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01339-yIn this Review, Eltzschig and colleagues describe the role of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in mediating cardioprotection against ischaemia–reperfusion injury and discuss the therapeutic potential of pharmacological HIF stabilizers in the settings of myocardial infarction and both cardiac and non-cardiac surgery.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01345-0Adam Goodwill discusses Eric Feigl’s seminal description of coronary physiology and how his paper shaped research into the mechanisms by which coronary blood flow is matched to myocardial metabolism.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01336-1Dyslipidaemia and hepatic steatosis are interconnected disorders that contribute to the burden of cardiovascular disease. Understanding the interactions between lipoprotein metabolism, changes in circulating lipids and hepatic lipid accumulation is, therefore, essential for improving risk stratification and therapeutic strategies. In this Review, Averna and colleagues discuss mechanistic links between dyslipidaemia and hepatic steatosis, the clinical relevance of the balance between circulating lipids and hepatic lipid content and the effects of lipid-lowering therapies on hepatic steatosis.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01344-1Bedside epicardial adipose tissue assessment in the era of advanced adipose phenotyping

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01343-2Reply to ‘Bedside epicardial adipose tissue assessment in the era of advanced adipose phenotyping’

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01331-6In this Review, Münzel and colleagues discuss the available mechanistic, biomarker, preclinical and clinical data on the cardiovascular effects of nicotine-containing products, define a hierarchy of cardiovascular harm across nicotine-containing products, summarize global policies on nicotine products, and highlight clinical implications and knowledge gaps.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01341-4The cardiovascular research landscape in China is shaped by a tiered, hospital-centred system, expanding funding opportunities and strong clinical resources. This Comment examines how institutional structures, research pathways and publication expectations influence scientific output and highlights how greater methodological rigour, international collaboration and more effective communication of scientific relevance to global audiences could improve the global visibility and impact of cardiovascular research from China.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01340-5Tipack Shanmugam discusses a study showing that microparticles released from atherosclerotic plaque can increase thrombotic risk and proposes that these extracellular vesicles might be therapeutically altered to prevent plaque rupture.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01335-2Myocardial fibrosis is a key structural and prognostically adverse feature of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). In this Review, Kaye and colleagues delineate HFpEF-specific fibroblast alterations, integrate cross-organ signalling networks that condition the cardiac stroma, and evaluate opportunities for fibroblast-directed therapies as next-generation antifibrotic strategies.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 11 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01337-0Tsiartas and Bennett discuss the discovery that atheroclerotic plaque vulnerability to rupture arises from the interaction between plaque composition and vessel biomechanics.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 11 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01338-zTwo studies published in Science explore how 3D chromatin organization and structure can influence cardiac development and promote heart failure.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01329-0Haemolysis, and the subsequent liberation of haemoglobin into the plasma, can induce haemodynamic dysregulation and cardiovascular injury. In this Review, Hieromnimon and colleagues discuss the mechanisms by which plasma free haemoglobin and its degradation products exert their deleterious effects, the pathophysiological responses to these derangements and the potential preventative and therapeutic approaches to haemolytic injury.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01332-5Ilias Simon and Yohan Santin discuss the study that demonstrated that post-mitotic cardiomyocytes can acquire a senescent phenotype with age.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01333-4Benjamin Dowsing describes the Whitehall studies, which established the inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and the risk of death from coronary heart disease, leading to the concept of social determinants of health.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 28 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01330-7Targeting systemic metabolism through mild mitochondrial uncoupling with a controlled-release mitochondrial protonophore can reduce atherosclerosis in a mouse model of cardiometabolic syndrome, even when administered at late stages of disease progression.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01325-4In this Review, Zelniker and Braunwald summarize the cardioprotective effects of empagliflozin and other sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and discuss the underlying mechanisms of these effects, including haemodynamic modulation, improved mitochondrial bioenergetics and activation of cytoprotective pathways that inhibit oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01322-7In this Review, Wang and Dobreva discuss nuclear and chromatin organization and remodelling during cardiac development, disease and ageing, highlight emerging methods to investigate nuclear architecture, describe how mechanical and metabolic signals shape the cardiac 4D nucleome, and examine the therapeutic and translational implications for cardiovascular health and disease.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01323-6Cardiac glycosides were the cornerstone of heart failure treatment for decades, but their use progressively declined after the introduction of modern prognostic medications. Two clinical trials now report that cardiac glycosides can reduce the risk of worsening heart failure events in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. These results do not mandate a paradigm shift but support a specific role for cardiac glycosides in selected patients.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01328-1In this Journal Club article, Dar describes the first study to report the transcriptional coactivator YAP as a central regulator of cardiac regeneration in mice.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 14 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01327-2As artificial intelligence (AI), multiomics and human organoids reshape cardiovascular research, calls to replace animal models are accelerating. We argue that understanding complex, multiorgan cardiovascular disease requires an integrated framework in which in vivo, in vitro and computational models each provide complementary biological insights.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01312-9In this Roadmap from the World Heart Federation, cardiac rehabilitation is reframed as programmes to promote lifelong cardiovascular health. Redfern et al. identify roadblocks and propose multifaceted solutions, together with international case studies of successful implementation.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01326-3In this Tools of the Trade article, Albarrán-Juárez describes the utility of the adeno-associated virus-PCSK9 model of atherosclerosis.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01324-5Dababneh and Roston describe the studies that first demonstrated that variants in genes encoding sarcomere proteins are the main cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01314-7In this Review, Brown and colleagues collate contemporary epidemiological data on cardiovascular disease in the Indigenous populations of Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the USA. The authors explore the potential drivers of inequalities in cardiovascular outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, as well as pathways for change in the pursuit of equity in cardiovascular health.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 03 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01321-8The authors highlight the first report of the measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction in humans, published in 1962 by Roland Folse and Eugene Braunwald.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 26 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01320-9Guidance is limited on how to move beyond the recognition of disparities in cardiovascular care among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults towards scalable health-care delivery that both supports risk assessment for and improves prevention of cardiovascular disease. We propose key components of cardiovascular programmes for SGM adults, including clinical scope, multidisciplinary health-care teams, SGM-specific considerations and measurable quality outcomes.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 24 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01319-2In this Tools of the Trade article, Lees and Lim describe a human modular cardiac microtissue platform used in their research laboratory that allows the contribution of each cell type to be established within an otherwise-intact human engineered cardiac tissue.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 22 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01318-3A study in Nature reports that in mice, healthy lifestyle behaviours, including exercise and uninterrupted sleep, can limit clone expansion in clonal haematopoiesis and promote the phenotypic reprogramming of clonal haematopoiesis mutant cells, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01313-8In this Review, Santovito and colleagues provide an overview of epigenetic regulation in atherosclerosis, focusing on how epigenetic modifications guide cell-specific transcriptional programmes in vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and immune cells to regulate cell plasticity and intercellular communication. They also discuss translational opportunities and the challenges of using epigenetic drugs to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01317-4Coronary artery calcium visible on routine, low-dose, non-contrast, chest computed tomography (CT) scans provides clinically relevant information about cardiovascular risk, without additional radiation exposure or cost. Mandatory systematic reporting of coronary artery calcium findings, supported by artificial intelligence and standardized workflows, could transform and elevate an often-overlooked, incidental finding into a practical tool in preventive cardiovascular care.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01301-yIn this Review, Okazaki and colleagues provide an overview of the phenotypic presentations of mitochondrial cardiomyopathy, describe the underlying molecular mechanisms and genetic causes, and summarize the latest diagnostic modalities and emerging treatment strategies.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 16 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01304-9In this Review, Nerlekar and colleagues describe how the collective biology of adipose depots, rather than quantity alone, drives cardiometabolic risk, highlight how patterns of fat distribution specific to sex and ethnicity can modulate this risk, and summarize numerous pharmacological interventions to target adipose tissue for the reduction of cardiometabolic risk.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01316-5Researchers have developed a deep learning system that uses short videos of the face passively recorded during everyday use of smartphones to monitor heart rate and resting heart rate. The system was validated under laboratory and free-living conditions and across a range of skin tones.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 09 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01315-6In patients with advanced, symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction refractory to guideline-directed therapy, transplantation of a tissue allograft produced from induced pluripotent stem cells promotes heart remuscularization and leads to increases in heart wall thickness, left ventricular ejection fraction and quality of life at 3 months, according to an interim analysis of the ongoing, phase I–II BioVAT-HF clinical trial.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 04 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01311-wA new study shows that the microtube network directs cardiomyocyte growth through two mechanisms: by redirecting the localization of mRNA and protein synthesis and by modifying the intercalated disc, the site of cell–cell adhesion at the ends of the cardiomyocyte.

Nature Reviews Cardiology, Published online: 28 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41569-026-01309-4Hypertensive disorders experienced during pregnancy can continue to increase cardiovascular risk after childbirth. However, adequate follow-up (including blood pressure management, risk stratification and cardiometabolic prevention) is not always incorporated into postpartum care. A life-course pathway that integrates surveillance and targeted interventions could reduce inequities and improve long-term cardiovascular outcomes.