Effect of autophagy in cardiovascular diseases

Autophagy is an important cellular pathway by which different cytosolic proteins and organelles are degraded under particular conditions, which is an essential mechanism that tissues utilize to maintain cellular homeostasis. The function of autophagy has been implicated in a wide range of cardiovascular diseases such as the ischemia/reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis, cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension and heart failure. In this review, we discuss the underlying mechanism manipulating the process of autophagy and introduce the links between autophagy and some cardiovascular diseases.