Risk for Heart Disease Could be in Your DNA

Ivanhoe Newswire

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- You may not know what telomeres are, but you may want to. A new study reveals they could be the key to predicting who will develop coronary heart disease.

Telomeres are repetitive strips of DNA capping the ends of chromosomes. They get shorter every time a cell divides. Shorter telomeres indicate older cells. Previous research has suggested those with heart disease have short telomeres, but it was not clear if the length was the consequence of heart disease or could be used to predict it. Researchers from British Heart Foundation and the University of Leicester in England conducted a study to find the answers.

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Investigators measured the telomere length in white blood cell DNA from men between ages 45 and 64. Researchers compared the telomere length of 484 men who went on to develop heart disease to more than a 1,000 men who were healthy.

Study authors report the men who developed heart disease had shorter telomere lengths than the healthy participants.

The participants were also part of an ongoing study in which some of the patients received either statins or placebo. Researchers then compared telomere lengths for those two groups. They report in the placebo-treated patients the risk of coronary heart disease was almost double in those with short telomeres when compared to those with long telomeres. The men in the statin groups with short telomeres had a significantly lower risk of developing heart disease than men with short telomeres who did not take statins.

Researchers conclude this study reveals telomere length is associated with future coronary heart disease and it can predict who would benefit more from statin treatment.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: The Lancet, 2007;369:107-114

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.