SIRT1 and endothelial dysfunction: Moreover, SIRT1 protects against endothelial dysfunction by preventing stress-induced premature senescence, thereby modulating the progression of cardiovascular diseases (Ota et al., 2007; Li et al., 2011; Nadtochiy et al., 2011; Stein and Matter, 2011), and it plays an essential role in mediating the survival of cardiac myocytes under stress in vitro (Alcendor et al., 2004; Pillai et al., 2005).