Circulating microRNAs and other biomarkers for premature atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis, the underlying pathological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease (CVD), is an extensively studied process. Risk factors that contribute to the origin and the progression of this process are reasonably well established and mathematical models have been built to calculate the exact risk of an individual patient to develop CVD. However, in patients who suffer their first cardiovascular event at an early age (premature CVD), traditional risk factors are usually not as pronounced and other factors seem to contribute to the development of CVD. Since early identification of an increased cardiovascular risk will enable subjects to take preventive measures early in the development of the disease, it is of utmost importance to identify new markers that can be used to predict the risk of premature CVD. It has been postulated that circulating miRNAs could be used as suitable biomarkers for CVD. In this thesis we addressed the question whether the expression of circulating miRNAs could be used to predict premature CVD in specific populations at risk. Furthermore, we investigated whether, apart from miRNAs, different markers could be used to identify specific subpopulations at risk of premature CVD.