Topic: Aging Mechanisms and Translational Research in Structural Heart Disease

This special issue aims to establish a high-impact academic platform focusing on the pivotal role of aging in the initiation and evolution of structural heart diseases, bridging basic scientific discovery, clinical risk prediction, and translational applications. Structural heart diseases, primarily represented by valvular calcification, myocardial remodeling, and degenerative heart diseases, present major clinical challenges in aging populations.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and clinical studies covering (but not limited to) the following cutting-edge areas:

Basic and Mechanistic Research: Exploring cellular senescence phenotypes, epigenetic regulation (e.g., histone modifications, RNA methylation), and chromatin remodeling within cardiac/valvular tissues; elucidating the crosstalk between mitochondrial metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation (inflamm-aging), and biomechanical stress.

Biomarkers and Risk Stratification: Identifying novel, tissue-specific or circulating aging biomarkers with high clinical predictive value for early warning and progression monitoring; integrating multi-omic mapping and biological age estimation to optimize clinical risk stratification.

Clinical and Translational Applications: Evaluating innovative interventions, including target-driven anti-calcification therapeutics, senolytics, regenerative medicine, and tissue-engineered valves; optimizing translational pathways to bridge fundamental discoveries into clinical practice.

Through this cohesive collection, we strive to achieve full-chain coverage from bench to bedside, driving forward novel clinical prevention and treatment pathways based on aging mechanisms.

Valvular heart disease, translational medicine, biomarkers, risk stratification, cellular senescence, myocardial remodeling, inflammaging, biomarkers, calcification, multi-omics