According to a British-led research, short people could be at higher risk of heart disease and the reason behind this could be associated with genes, which also determine height.

According to the scientists, risk of heart disease in an individual increases nearly 13.5% for every 2.5 inches of difference in height. They added that this indicates that a 5-foot-tall person has an average 32% higher risk of heart disease compared to person, who is 5-foot 6-inches tall.

A thorough genetic analysis of over 18,000 people found many genes associated with human growth and development that probably add to the increased risk for heart disease.

According to Dr. Nilesh Samani, a professor of cardiology and head of the department of cardiovascular sciences at the University of Leicester in England, they found that individuals carrying those genetic variants, which lower height and make one shorter, are more likely to develop coronary heart disease.

As per Samani, they followed a simple approach to find out what leads to coronary artery diseases.

He added, "We thought about traditional risk factors and then genes that might cause coronary disease. But what this [study] highlights for me is that probably developmental processes are going on that probably have an influence on height". He also said that these processes probably also affects [blood vessels of the heart] and this could lead to coronary artery disease.

The study showed a link between height, genetics and a higher risk of heart disease, but it wasn't able to show the principle behind causation. The study has been published online in The New England Journal of Medicine.

When the arteries supplying blood to the muscles of the heart become narrowed, because of fatty plaques that are formed along the artery walls, it leads to heart disease.