AccScience Publishing / GTM / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/GTM025100024
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REVIEW ARTICLE

Inflammation and cardiovascular disease – Part II: Anti-inflammatory therapy in cardiovascular disease

Tushar Menon1 ,  Vipan Chahil2 ,  Dhruv Patel3 ,  Corina Grancorvitz4 ,  Krishnaswami Vijayraghavan5*
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1 Abrazo Healthcare, Glendale, Arizona, United States of America
2 Valley Hospital Medical Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America
3 HonorHealth Mountain Vista Medical Center, Mesa, Arizona, United States of America
4 Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, Massachusetts, United States of America
5 Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine-Phoenix, University of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America
Global Translational Medicine, 025100024 https://doi.org/10.36922/GTM025100024
Received: 6 March 2025 | Revised: 17 April 2025 | Accepted: 18 April 2025 | Published online: 7 May 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Inflammation plays a central role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVDs), contributing to plaque progression, instability, and thrombosis. Chronic systemic inflammation exacerbates endothelial dysfunction, promotes oxidative stress, and accelerates atherogenesis, necessitating targeted interventions. This review explores established and emerging strategies for modulating inflammation to improve cardiovascular outcomes. Statin therapy remains foundational, with trials, such as JUPITER, demonstrating significant reductions in cardiovascular events through high-sensitivity C-reactive protein modulation, independent of low-density lipoprotein lowering. Non-statin lipid-lowering therapies, including proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors, ezetimibe, and bempedoic acid, have shown additional anti-inflammatory benefits and further reduce inflammation-driven cardiovascular risk. In addition, triglyceride-lowering agents targeting apolipoprotein C-III and angiopoietin-like protein pathways offer promising avenues for reducing metabolic inflammation and residual ASCVD risk. Anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy has gained traction, with trials such as canakinumab anti-inflammatory thrombosis outcomes study, colchicine cardiovascular outcomes trial, and low-dose colchicine underscoring the efficacy of canakinumab and colchicine in reducing cardiovascular events. Emerging interleukin (IL) pathways (e.g., IL-17, IL-33, and IL-36) and novel therapeutic targets (e.g., cluster of differentiation 47 inhibitors, serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 modulation, and P-selectin blockade) present future opportunities for precision cardiovascular medicine. However, residual inflammatory risk persists despite optimal lipid control, highlighting the need for a multimodal approach integrating lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and targeted immunomodulatory therapies. The expanding role of inflammation in ASCVD suggests a paradigm shift toward inflammation-guided treatment strategies. Further research is warranted to refine patient selection, personalize therapy, and optimize long-term outcomes for inflammation-driven cardiovascular disease.

Keywords
Cardiovascular inflammation
Cardiovascular disease
Chronic kidney disease
Inflammation-targeted therapies
Lipid-lowering therapy
PCSK9 inhibitors and inflammation reduction
ApoC-III and triglyceride-lowering therapies
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Krishnaswami Vijayraghavan is the Guest Editor of this special issue but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper. Corina Grancorvitz is an employee of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals but declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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Global Translational Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2811-0021 Print ISSN: 3060-8600, Published by AccScience Publishing
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