About

Home
About

Action Summary

EU-METAHEART’s novelty relies on building a comprehensive and cutting-edge approach towards a deeper understanding of metabolic dysfunction in heart failure

The COST Action “EUropean network to tackle METAbolic alterations in HEART failure” (EU-METAHEART) brings together excellent researchers from Europe to contribute a broad spectrum of scientific expertise, cutting-edge technologies, scientific exchange and education to foster breakthrough science that moves the field forward towards improving the treatment of patients with heart failure.

Action Background

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe, often leading to heart failure (HF), the largest disease burden in Europe. The prevalence of HF increases with age, as does the prevalence of comorbidities.

These comorbidities negatively affect HF outcomes, which, in turn, induces metabolic alterations that predispose patients to developing diabetes and other conditions. HF is thus considered a systemic disease, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach to prevention, diagnostics, and treatment.

Communication between the heart and other organs occurs via neuroendocrine activation, inflammation, and metabolism. Traditional treatments for HF, like ACE inhibitors, β-blockers, aldosterone antagonists, and angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitors, are effective for HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) but not as effective for HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Recent breakthroughs have targeted metabolism in HF treatment with a significant impact on morbidity, body weight and quality of life (SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 agonists). The mechanisms behind these benefits likely involve improvements in systemic and cardiac metabolism. Additionally, mitochondria-targeted therapies, such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) precursors, ketones, and compounds addressing mitochondrial oxidative stress, show promise in preclinical studies but are not yet clinically established.

Analyzing cardiac metabolism perturbations requires an integrative approach that considers the interplay between metabolism, cardiac function, and vascular health (Figure 2). Despite significant advancements in research, the complexity of metabolism and the interdependence of controlling mechanisms often exceed the capabilities of single-discipline researchers and institutions, hampering scientific progress. Thus consortia such as EU-METAHEART are urgently needed.

Action Objectives

To achieve the main objective described in this MoU, the following specific objectives shall be accomplished:

  • To facilitate an interdisciplinary dialogue, knowledge and technology transfer to improve our understanding of metabolic alterations in HF and identify biomarkers and treatment targets for the benefit of patients with this devastating syndrome.
  • To train the next generation of scientists that will tackle the challenges imposed by the ever-growing burden of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
  • To coordinate research activities within individual WGs (1-5) towards revealing mechanisms of metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction in heart failure and identification of novel treatment targets by sharing animal models and diagnostic/analytical technologies.
  • To coordinate research activities between WGs (1-5) towards resolving integrative, cross-disciplinary mechanisms of metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction in HF, leading to identification of novel treatment targets.
  • To facilitate an interdisciplinary dialogue, knowledge and technology transfer to improve our understanding of metabolic alterations in HF and identify biomarkers and treatment targets for the benefit of patients with this devastating syndrome.
  • To train the next generation of scientists that will tackle the challenges imposed by the ever-growing burden of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.