New Genetic Markers Identified for Increased Heart Attack

Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium
NIEHS Grant P30ES007033

An international team of scientists partially supported by NIEHS has found nine new gene variants, also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction or heart attack. These polymorphisms provide new insight for understanding genetic patterns of heart attack and for developing new treatment options.

One key finding of the report is that people that carry more than one of the markers have more than twice the risk for heart attack. The scientists performed a genome-wide scan of thousands of patients with hundreds of thousands of genetic markers. Heart attack patients, previously enrolled in an existing study, and healthy control persons participated in the study.

In one study, suspect genes were mapped to chromosomes 3 and 12. One of these genes, known as MRAS, plays an important role in cardiovascular biology. Another gene, HNF1A, is closely associated with cholesterol metabolism. Another study identified three previously unknown genes on chromosome 2, 6, and 21. Results from this study show that the higher the number of disease genes a person has, the higher the risk for heart attack.

The scientists conclude that the knowledge gained from their work will aid in addressing the risk of heart attack in order to develop preventive and early intervention strategies.

Citation: Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium. Genome-wide association of early-onset myocardial infarction with single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variants. Nat Genet. 2009 Mar;41(3):334-41.