Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) cause the largest mortality worldwide, and much attention has been focused to unravel the mechanisms and optimize the treatment regimens. Curcumin is an important bioactive component of turmeric that has been widely applied as traditional medicine to prevent and treat various diseases in some countries. Recent studies have demonstrated its potent activities in modulating multiple signaling pathways associated with cellular growth, proliferation, survival, inflammation and oxidative stress. The cardiovascular protective properties of curcumin in CVDs have been fully illustrated in numerous studies. In this review, we first briefly introduce the medicinal history of curcumin. Secondly, we systematically analyze the preclinical studies of curcumin in CVDs such as cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, drug-induced cardiotoxicity, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, stroke and diabetic cardiovascular complications. The potential molecular targets of curcumin are also summarized. Thirdly, the clinical trials of curcumin in CVDs are overviewed and discussed. Finally, we discuss the therapeutic utility of derivatives of curcumin, and highlight existing problems of curcumin as an effective drug lead in treating CVDs.

心血管疾病（CVD）导致全球范围内最大的死亡率，因此人们已经将很多注意力集中在阐明其机理和优化治疗方案上。姜黄素是姜黄的重要生物活性成分，在一些国家已被广泛用作预防和治疗各种疾病的传统药物。最近的研究表明，它在调节与细胞生长，增殖，存活，炎症和氧化应激有关的多种信号传导途径中具有强大的活性。姜黄素在心血管疾病中的心血管保护作用已在众多研究中得到充分证明。在这篇综述中，我们首先简要介绍姜黄素的药用史。其次，我们系统分析姜黄素在CVD中的临床前研究，例如心脏肥大，心力衰竭，药物引起的心脏毒性，心肌梗塞，动脉粥样硬化，腹主动脉瘤，中风和糖尿病性心血管并发症。还总结了姜黄素的潜在分子靶标。第三，对姜黄素在心血管疾病中的临床研究进行了概述和讨论。最后，我们讨论了姜黄素衍生物的治疗作用，并着重指出了姜黄素作为治疗CVD的有效药物铅所存在的问题。