Spell "cholesterol." C, H, O, L . . .
Are you at risk for heart disease? Check your grandpa?s obit. Having a relative die of heart complications before age 60 doubles your own risk of premature heart disease, according to a new study published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. Even more: if it?s a parent or sibling, your risk shoots up 72 percent. If there are two or more premature cardiovascular deaths, your risk increases two-fold compared to just one.
Researchers studied the family history of about 4 million people from a public health care database?the largest study to look at the matter?and found the risk to hold true independent of other heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or diabetes.
?Whenever we see events that occur early in life clustering in families, we tend to think that there must be an underlying genetic contribution,? says Mattis F. Ranthe, M.D., Ph.D. student at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, and researcher of the study. More specifically, bad genes are to blame, adds Eric Topol, M.D., director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, and Men?s Health cardiology advisor.
The only thing is, doctors can?t yet pinpoint just which genes are the bad ones. ?I?ll have patients come in who know they have this issue in the family wondering if they?ll have the same fate,? says Dr. Topol. ?Hopefully in the future we can look at genes and determine which ones could be risk factors.?
Until then, if early death from heart complications runs in the family, it?s time to go into high gear prevention mode, says Dr. Topol. If you?re not sure, try to find out what you can about your family history by asking around or checking public death records, says Dr. Ranthe. And clean up your act?whether or not it runs in the family. Being overweight, smoking, drinking, and high blood pressure up your risk of heart problems, and are easy changes to make. (For tips on how to shed pounds, eat right, and change your life fast, sign up for our Daily Dose Newsletter?it?s FREE!)
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Source: http://news.menshealth.com/do-you-know-how-youll-die/2012/08/25/
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