According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6.2 million Americans are living with heart failure—a condition where the heart struggles to pump enough blood for the body but doesn’t completely stop.
With numbers like these, heart failure is a public health concern that needs serious attention.
While there have been advances in treatment and prevention, the role of genetics in heart failure has remained largely unclear. That is, until now.
Unveiling New Genetic Links to Heart Failure
A groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications has revealed new genetic variants connected to heart failure.
Researchers analyzed the genomes of over 115,000 patients with heart failure and discovered 47 spots in our DNA where specific variants may increase the risk of developing the condition.
Megan Roy-Puckelwartz, Ph.D., and assistant professor of Pharmacology and a co-author of the study, explained, “This study opens up new ways to think about heart failure. These spots in our DNA now become targets for treatment.”
Before this study, researchers had only identified 11 common genetic risk factors for heart failure.
But thanks to this new research, which used a comprehensive method called a meta-analysis, scientists have expanded our understanding significantly.
What It Means for Treatment and Prevention
Interestingly, the study also identified nine proteins that are linked to the risk of heart failure. These proteins and newly found genetic variants could serve as markers to assess someone’s likelihood of developing the condition.
Elizabeth McNally, MD, Ph.D., co-author of the study, said, “By evaluating such a large number of heart failure patients, it was possible to find new genes and proteins involved in heart failure.”
Some of these findings could help doctors predict who is at risk for heart failure and could also become future targets for treatment.
In addition to finding these genetic risk factors, researchers also discovered connections between heart failure and other health issues.
For example, they found that the genetic variants linked to heart failure are also associated with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease—both of which are known risk factors for heart failure.
The Road Ahead
This study paves the way for future research that could revolutionize how we treat and prevent heart failure.
The next step, according to McNally, is “to integrate these types of ‘common’ gene variants with rare gene changes so that we can better predict who is likely to develop heart failure and who may develop other complications.”
In a time when millions of Americans are living with heart failure, these new discoveries offer a glimmer of hope.
The findings could lead to more personalized treatments, based on an individual’s unique genetic makeup, making prevention and management of heart failure more effective than ever.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about a big cause of heart failure, and common blood test could advance heart failure treatment.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about a new way to repair human heart, and results showing drinking coffee may help reduce heart failure risk.
The research findings can be found in Nature Communications.
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