Interleukin-18 and cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases in modern society have a high mortality and pose serious threats to human health. With the development of genomics, there is an urgent need for identified biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases. Biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases can objectively reflect the biological process, pathogenesis and changes in pharmacology. Biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases may become important indicators. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) with many biological characteristics of inflammatory cytokines serves as an important member of the cytokines and plays a significant role in the inflammatory process. An increasing number of experiments and clinical evidence suggest that IL-18 is important in the occurrence, development, prognosis and complications of cardiovascular diseases. In this paper we will briefly review the relationship between IL-18 and coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.