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How a simple genetic test can spot an unhealthy heart
Last updated at 10:07am on 27.02.08
A test will be able to pinpoint can pinpoint which middle-aged men are at risk of heart problems
It can pinpoint which middle-aged men are at high risk of cardiac problems, including heart attacks, which could not be detected by normal tests.
These patients would then be eligible for cholesterol-lowering statins – potentially lifesaving drugs they would not have been prescribed normally.
It is thought women could also benefit from the test, which could be on market in two years. and cost as little as £30.
Stephen Humphries, of University CollegeLondon: "This is a very exciting time. We are really moving to the point where we are going to have something very helpful to offer people in the next couple of years."
Professor Humphries' team tested the kit on a group of middle-aged men whose health they tracked for more than 15 years.
The men, whose average age was 56, were given blood pressure, cholesterol and weight checks designed to gauge their risk of heart disease as low, medium or high.
By the end of the study, 270 of the 2,742 men had developed heart disease, including many deemed to be medium rather than high risk through the traditional checks.
Testing of samples of their DNA showed that 55 had a genetic flaw that would have raised their risk from medium to high.
As men judged high risk are eligible for statins on the NHS, a change in status would have allowed them to receive potentially lifesaving treatment.
The current gene test looks for just one flaw. However, the researchers are working on one which would test DNA from cells taken from the inside of the cheek then search for six or seven rogue genes at once.
Professor Humphries said: "An accurate genetic test will need to combine information from several or many different genes.
"It will also need to be looked at alongside lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
"There is a concern about false reassurance, the message they mustn't get is that they can carry on smoking and don't have to exercise because they don't have the high risk gene. The other risk is that when you tell people they have the high risk gene they will think there is nothing they can do."
Professor Peter Weissberg, of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, said: "Until we know more, patients should avoid genetic testing unless advised to do so by their doctor.
"We can all reduce our heart risk by living a healthy lifestyle – whether we have a genetic predisposition or not."
