Heart attack is linked to a common genetic variation on chromosome 9p21. This genetic mutation increases heart attack risk, revealed by researchers at at Emory and Duke Universities.
The study published in the latest edition of the Journal Science.
Investigators enrolled 4,587 patients over the last eight years, who suffered myocardial infarctions, along with 12,769 control individuals. Researchers found individuals with the variation have a 1.64-fold greater risk of suffering a heart attack (myocardial infarction) and a 2.02-fold greater risk of suffering a heart attack early in life (before age 50 for men and before age 60 for women) than those without the variation.
The study uncovered the first common variant found to be consistently linked to substantial risk of heart attack. About 21 percent of individuals of European descent carry two copies of the genetic variation (one from each parent), found on chromosome 9p21.
The research project was led by the Icelandic genomics company deCODE Genetics, along with U.S. researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, Duke University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Heart attack is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than 1.5 million Americans suffer a heart attack every year, and almost half a million die, according to the American Heart Association. Most heart attacks are the end result of years of silent but progressive coronary artery disease, which can be prevented in many people. A heart attack is often the first symptom of coronary artery disease. According to the American Heart Association, 63% of women and 48% of men who died suddenly of coronary artery disease had no previous symptoms. Heart attacks are also called myocardial infarctions (MIs).