As an essential trace mineral in mammals and the second most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, iron acts as a double-edged sword in humans. Iron plays important beneficial roles in numerous biological processes ranging from deoxyribonucleic acid biosynthesis and protein function to cell cycle progression. However, iron metabolism disruption leads to widespread tissue degeneration and organ dysfunction. An increasing number of studies have focused on iron regulation pathways and have explored the relationship between iron and cardiovascular diseases. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death, was first described in cancer cells and has recently been linked to heart diseases, including cardiac ischemia–reperfusion injury and doxorubicin-induced myocardiopathy. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of iron homeostasis and heart diseases and discuss potential relationships between ferroptosis and cardiac ischemia–reperfusion injury and cardiomyopathy.

作为哺乳动物中必不可少的微量矿物质和地壳中第二丰富的金属，铁在人类中是一把双刃剑。铁在从脱氧核糖核酸生物合成和蛋白质功能到细胞周期进程的众多生物过程中发挥着重要的有益作用。然而，铁代谢中断会导致广泛的组织退化和器官功能障碍。越来越多的研究集中在铁的调节途径上，并探讨了铁与心血管疾病之间的关系。铁死亡是一种程序性细胞死亡的铁依赖性形式，首先在癌细胞中被描述，最近与心脏病有关，包括心脏缺血再灌注损伤和多柔比星诱导的心肌病。这里，