Longevity in the family reduces heart disease risk

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

People whose parents live to over 85 have fewer heart disease risk factors in middle age, according to a new report.
Previous research has indicated that the childrens of centenarians, who live to 100 or more, tend also to live longer. They are also less likely to have heart disease. A new report from the Framingham Heart Study now confirms this finding.

The children of the original participants of this long-running study on heart health are now coming through for observation. Researchers at Boston University have been looking at a group of 1,697 individuals and found that eleven per cent of them had two parents who survived to the age of 85 or more. Forty seven per cent had one parent who lived to 85 while the rest had parents who died before the age of 85.

Those with longevity in the family had fewer heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This link between longevity and reduced heart disease risk is probably explicable by genetic contributions. Learning more about the genes involved in protecting from heart disease may lead to new ways of preventing heart problems in the community at large.

Source
Archives of Internal Medicine 12th March 2007 Volume 167 pages 438-444