Word: heart
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...genetic screens included one set of 101 gene changes that have been linked to heart disease as well as to factors that can contribute to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. The second genetic screen was a leaner library of 12 genetic changes for which published studies have found a definitive link to heart disease only...
...Framingham score is a decades-old tool established by a landmark study that began in 1948 (and continues today), which identified seven major predictors of heart disease - older age, diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high total cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol and a BMI in the overweight or obese range. The Reynolds score is a more recent screen that uses the Framingham risk factors as a base and adds another, inflammation, which in recent studies has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. (See the 50 best inventions...
Among the more than 19,000 women followed in the study, published Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation, those deemed by the genetic screen to be in the lowest risk group had a 3% risk of developing heart disease, while those in the highest risk group had a 3.7% risk - just barely significant and, by Paynter's admission, not a large difference at all. "Adding the risk scores really didn't add anything," she says. (See the top 10 scientific discoveries...
...that doesn't necessarily mean that genes aren't playing any role in heart disease. In fact, given that family history is significantly predictive of an individual's heart-disease risk, genes are likely a very important component of that risk profile. It's just that our current screening tools are already capturing much of this genetic contribution. "This study reflects the fact that genetic influences can be controlled through lifestyle," says Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital...
...other words, many of the factors that contribute to heart disease are within most people's power to control - by keeping blood pressure and cholesterol low, staying slim and not smoking. "This is good news for patients, because if people believe their risk is driven by genetic factors, I think they are less likely to be motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle," says Mosca. "We know what causes heart disease, for the most part." And we can't blame our genes...