Epigenetics in precision medicine of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of morbidity and death worldwide, representing one of the most relevant challenges for developed and developing societies. The implementation of personalized approaches for triage strategies, diagnosis, risk stratification and prediction and/or monitoring of the therapeutic response will have crucial implications for the health of the patient and the efficient use of healthcare system resources. In this context, the identification of novel biomarkers to guide clinician decision-making and support the transition from usual care to precision medicine is fundamental. Circulating noncoding RNAs constitute a source of novel biomarkers that has attracted great attention in the context of cardiovascular conditions. Here, we summarize the recent advances in the field, provide relevant examples and discuss the state-of-the-art research into ncRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and biomarker-guided therapy of cardiovascular disease. Finally, we highlight current limitations and propose future steps.