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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Is There A Way to Predict Heart Disease? Family history can be a risk factor for heart disease. If doctors can first look at and analyze the genetic components of family members of their patients, who are of high family risk of heart disease, they might be able to decide whether they should prescribe medications or take other appropriate action for their patients. A group of cardiologists from Singapore, who have been conducting clinical trials in Singapore since the 1980s, recently (April 2009) announced that they can predict the likelihood of someone developing coronary heart disease, with a high accuracy rate of 83 percent. Coronary heart disease refers to either angina or chest pains, which is caused by blocked arteries as well as a full-blown heart attack. As its warning signs are often ignored, it is also known as ‘the silent killer’. Coronary heart disease is one of the main causes of death in Singapore. In the trials, the blood samples of nearly 3,000 people, half of them with heart disease and the other half were healthy, were collected. From these blinded samples, the scientists were able to predict accurately in 83 out of 100 people whether they had or were predisposed to heart disease.
Similar tests are available overseas but they only examine a single gene (chromosome 9) to ascertain if there is a risk of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions. In contrast, the new tests used in the trials can analyze 15 different genes out of the more than 200 genes involved in heart disease. This certainly improves accuracy. Each person is estimated to have a total of about 35,000 genes. Believed to be the first in the world that is particularly relevant to the Asian population, the new study also analyzed lifestyle and environmental factors to arrive at the overall risk of getting the disease, in addition to genetic information. As such, the scientists could then plot on a chart to show how a patient’s risk level progresses with age. For example, the chart of a smoker with genes that predispose him to heart disease will show a very steep incline in the risk of heart disease appearing earlier, in comparison to someone who does not smoke at all but with genes that also predispose him to heart disease. According to the scientists, genetic components make up 60 percent of the risk factor for heart disease while lifestyle contributes to the remaining 40 percent. When comparing with overseas studies, which predict heart disease from such risk factors as cholesterol levels, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking and family history, gene testing could add 10 more percent to those information. It is evident that people should pay attention to their lifestyle. However, some people would require some extra information to motivate them. For instance, a smoker would be motivated to take some action when the chart shows him or her how the risk of heart disease is decreased if he or she quit smoking. Meanwhile, the gene testing can be used on babies too because the genes of a person do not change with age. Parents of a particular baby, who is genetically at high risk of heart disease, could take action earlier in life to ensure the child lead to an active lifestyle and maintain good cardiovascular health.
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