In recent years, the vital role of genetic factors in human diseases have been widely recognized by scholars with the deepening of life science research, accompanied by the rapid development of gene-editing technology. In early years, scientists used homologous recombination technology to establish gene knock-out and gene knock-in animal models, and then appeared the second-generation gene-editing technology
zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and
transcription activator-like effector nucleases (
TALENs) that relied on
nucleic acid binding proteins and
endonucleases and the third-generation gene-editing technology that functioned through
protein-
nucleic acids complexes-CRISPR/Cas9 system. This holds another promise for refractory diseases and
genetic diseases.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has always been the focus of clinical and basic research because of its high incidence and high disability rate, which seriously affects the long-term survival and quality of life of patients. Because some inherited
cardiovascular diseases do not respond well to drug and surgical treatment, researchers are trying to use rapidly developing genetic techniques to develop initial attempts. However, significant obstacles to clinical application of gene therapy still exists, such as insufficient understanding of the nature of
cardiovascular disease, limitations of genetic technology, or ethical concerns. This review mainly introduces the types and mechanisms of gene-editing techniques, ethical concerns of gene therapy, the application of gene therapy in
atherosclerosis and inheritable
cardiovascular diseases, in-
stent restenosis, and delivering systems.