Personalized medicine in cardiovascular disease: review of literature

Personalized medicine (PM) is the concept of managing patients based on their characteristics, including genotypes. In the field of cardiology, advantages of PM could be found in the diagnosis and treatment of several conditions such as arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies; moreover, it may be beneficial to prevent adverse drug reactions (ADR) and select the best medication. Genetic background can help us in selecting effective treatments, appropriate dose requirements, and preventive strategies in individuals with particular genotypes. In this review, we provide examples of personalized medicine based on human genetics for the most used pharmaceutics in cardiology, including warfarin, clopidogrel, and statins. We also review cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, and cardiomyopathies. Genetic factors are as important as environmental factors and they should be tested and evaluated more in the future by improving in genetic testing tools.