Heart attack risk: All in the genes

[Angel]

A study covering more than 2,000 patients has identified two genes that are associated with an increased risk of an early heart attack, researchers said on Thursday.

Those with the genes had twice the risk of an early-onset heart attack as those without, according to the researchers from the University of California, San Francisco; Cleveland Clinic; Case Western Reserve University; Brigham Young University; and Celera Genomics, which partly funded the research.

The research linked one form of a gene known as VAMP8 to the early stages of blood-clot formation, which, when formed in the heart, can block oxygen and lead to a heart attack. Knowing gene mutations that increase heart attack risk can help identify people at risk and clarify molecular changes involved in heart disease.

This knowledge can lead to new potential drug targets to treat the disease. Another gene, HNRPUL1 was also found to be strongly associated with heart attack risk, although the nature of the connection was less clear.

John Kane, professor of medicine at University of California and co-author of the study, said the relatively large scale of the trial reduced the risk that the findings were the result of chance and potentially sets the stage for a diagnostic test that can predict which people are at greatest risk for a heart attack.

"A number of studies have identified genes linked to increased heart attack risk, but many of the studies have been so small that there has been a high risk of false positives," he said.