Presence of a variant of the gene indicates the risk of early coronary artery disease

Presence of a variant of the gene indicates the risk of early coronary artery diseaseResearch team led by Cardiologist Svati Shah at the Duke University School of Medicine discovered a gene, presence of which increases the risk of suffering a heart attack before a person turn 40. Study revealed that a variant of the gene called NPY makes people susceptible to early coronary artery disease.

Researchers studied genetic sequences from individuals across 920 families. The study also indicated that the connection between the gene and early heart disease was even stronger in patients with heart disease before the age of 37. Researchers found that variants of the NPY gene can be transmitted from generation to generation across a population of patients susceptible to early onset coronary artery disease.

Shah said that such genetic findings may help us in future to identify these patients prior to the development or coronary artery disease or their first heart attack.

Elizabeth Hauser, associate professor of medical genetics at the Duke University said,

"If a person has the NPY gene variants in one of two copies from the mother and father, then he/she may develop coronary disease earlier."

The importance of this study lies into the fact that it can lead to development of some genetic test which can identify young people at risk of early heart disease then these people can be saved by changes in their diet or lifestyle from the risk of heart attacks.