Does your genetic makeup shape your destiny when it comes to preventing heart disease? The common understanding of heart disease is that your DNA is deterministic, and if you have certain genetic risk factors you will be more likely to get heart disease. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, says otherwise. It’s a new analysis of data from more than 55,000 people. What the study finds is that by living a healthy lifestyle—by not smoking, by exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and grains-- you can mitigate even the worst genetic risk to help prevent heart disease.
“DNA is not destiny? it is not deterministic for this disease,” said Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, director of the Center for Human Genetic Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. “You do have control over the problem, even if you have been dealt a bad genetic hand.”
This research from Dr. Kathiseran and his colleagues is the first attempt to use large data sets to study the connection between genes and lifestyle in preventing heart disease. The study was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
Heart Disease Prevalence in the United States
About 365,000 people die from coronary heart disease annually, which is the most common type, in the United States; and 17.3 million die worldwide. Heart disease is one of the biggest killers among any disease, making heart disease prevention a national priority.
What the investigators found in the study was that while genes can double the risk of heart disease, a healthy lifestyle assists by reducing heart disease risk by half, essentially eliminating your genetic risk factor. Similarly, a bad lifestyle with no exercise and bad diet erases some of the benefits of good genetics.
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| Genetics can play a role in heart disease, but the effects can be mitigated. Source: nih.gov |
What It All Means
This study shows the power of large data sets. Smaller data sets can have too much random variation, making results difficult to interpret. Studies like Dr. Kathiresan’s enable stronger results, better predictors of risk, and discovery of more reliable ways to help prevent heart disease.
This study can be used in some part to talk to patients about their risk, even though genetic testing on an individual level for heart disease prevention isn’t available yet. Telling people they have the power to change their genetic risk is powerful. It puts the onus back on them to make changes in their lives and mitigate their risk of coronary heart attack. Changing to a healthy lifestyle can reduce your genetic risk of heart disease.
