Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have imposed a massive health and financial burden worldwide with high mortality and morbidity. However, the diagnostic value of current biomarkers might be impaired by a wide variety of noncardiac causes. Moreover, cardiovascular outcomes, survival, and prognosis of patients with CVDs remain poor despite advances in treatment. Therefore, novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are urgently required for timely identification of possible heart diseases in the early stage, which might effectively contribute to reducing the CVDs-caused morbidity and mortality. Circular RNA (circRNA) was initially identified as aberrant byproducts or abnormally spliced transcripts. However, with advances in bioinformatics and high-throughput sequencing technology, circRNAs has become an essential topic on a wide range of biological functions and emerged as novel players in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for CVDs. In this article, we briefly introduce the biogenesis and functions of circRNAs. Moreover, we describe the roles of circRNAs in multiple CVDs, including atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, as well as cardiomyopathy. In addition, we provide an overview on the current challenges and directions for further application.

中文翻译：

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环状RNA在心血管疾病中的潜在诊断和治疗价值。

心血管疾病 (CVDs) 在世界范围内造成了巨大的健康和经济负担，死亡率和发病率都很高。然而，当前生物标志物的诊断价值可能会受到多种非心脏原因的影响。此外，尽管治疗有所进步，但心血管疾病患者的心血管结局、生存率和预后仍然很差。因此，迫切需要新的诊断和治疗策略，在早期及时识别可能的心脏病，这可能有效地有助于降低 CVD 引起的发病率和死亡率。环状 RNA (circRNA) 最初被鉴定为异常副产物或异常剪接的转录物。然而，随着生物信息学和高通量测序技术的进步，circRNA 已成为广泛生物学功能的重要主题，并成为 CVD 诊断和治疗策略的新参与者。在本文中，我们简要介绍了 circRNA 的生物起源和功能。此外，我们描述了 circRNA 在多种心血管疾病中的作用，包括动脉粥样硬化、冠状动脉疾病、心肌梗塞和心肌病。此外，我们概述了当前的挑战和进一步应用的方向。