Genes Linked to Heart Attacks Found

Nine genetic locations prone to mis-coding were found to be strongly associated with early heart attack patients in a study co-authored by two Harvard Medical School professors and others in a report published in Nature Genetics last Sunday.

The identification of the locations may make it easier to diagnose patients at risk, and co-author David M. Altshuler, a professor of genetics and medicine at Harvard Medical School, said that the paper provides “new biological clues.”

Co-author Christopher J. O’Donnell, an HMS associate clinical professor, began collecting genetic data 10 years ago. He said that he was “prompted by curiosity” about the specific causes of heart attacks, adding that when he began there was no strong evidence for any specific gene association with heart attacks.

The information from O’Donnell’s previous research, as well as data from six other labs, was compiled into a set of 3,000 heart attack patients and 3,000 controls. Researchers performed a million tests on each patient’s DNA for a total of 6 billion tests, said O’Donnell.

The study used a gene chip developed by Altshuler’s team that can screen simultaneously for single problematic genetic locations and deletions of large chunks of DNA.

When the data was processed through the chip, researches found nine single genetic locations, but no large deletions, to be associated with increased risk for early heart attacks. This was the first time the gene chip was used to look at heart attacks, according to Altshuler.

Genetics are already considered an important casual factor in early heart attacks. The predictive power of genetics may someday become greater than that of cholesterol measurement, Altshuler said.

In a world where pharmaceutical companies are trying to market genetic tests to diagnose disease, the study may provide information for potential drug therapies. However, according to O’Donnell, “more evidence” is still necessary.