Heart disease appears to run in families

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Middle-aged adults who have a sibling with heart disease have a 45 per cent increased risk for developing it themselves.
We already know that having a first degree relative with heart disease tends to increase the risk of an individual developing it themselves. But it has not been clear whether family history is an independent risk factor. Researchers for the long-running Framingham Heart Study now go some way towards confirming this.

They looked at 973 people who had a sibling with heart disease and another 4,506 who did not have an affected sibling. Those in the former group proved to have a 55 per cent increased risk of heart disease; after adjusting for other risk factors, this risk fell to 45 per cent. This risk is greater than that conferred by having parents who have heart disease. The underlying genetic factors need further research but those who do have a family history of heart disease clearly have much to gain from adopting a heart healthy lfiestyle.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 28th December 2005 Volume 294 pages 3117-3123

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