The rapid growth of the world elderly population has heightened awareness of age-related diseases, including interest in the study of the aging human heart. By 2020, those older than 60 years will account for more than 20% of the total population, corresponding to the fastest growing age group worldwide. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in the elderly, as those older than 65 years account for greater than 80% of patients with ischemic heart disease. Aging medicine is a rapid developing medical branch and it attracts more and more attention from cardiovascular researchers.

Numerous studies suggest that aging plays a vital role in mediating cardiovascular diseases. A large number of clinical trials have demonstrated aging induced postischemic cardiac function reduction and the development of coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Furthermore, basic researches explored the involved mechanisms in part; however, the major mechanisms remain unknown.

With this special issue, we welcome clinical trials and mechanism studies of aging-related heart and coronary artery diseases, such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF). Furthermore, intervention and surgery are two main treatments of coronary artery disease, and so part of this special issue will be also dedicated to research on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG).

We welcome original research articles reporting results from basic, clinical, and translational studies, as well as expert review articles which explore aging-related cardiovascular studies.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• The roles of aging in the development of heart failure
• The effects of aging on the development of postischemic heart failure
• The roles and effects of aging in the development of coronary artery disease
• Medication, intervention, and surgery on aging-related coronary heart disease
• Medical imaging research on aging-related coronary heart disease