(Reuters) – A study tracking a large group of women for a decade casts doubt on the value of testing for a certain genetic trait linked to heart disease to predict one's chances of illness. Knowing a woman had the abnormality on chromosome 9 did not improve cardiovascular illness prediction compared to typical risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol levels, diabetes, family history of heart attack and C-reactive protein as an indicator of arterial inflammation. This common genetic trait has been shown to raise the risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions, and commercial tests for it are available to consumers. The study appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Steve - we blogged this because it is yet another example that genetic predisposition to disease is a multifaceted task that has too many variables that have yet to be discovered. While continued science will most likely decipher the genetic combinations that cause human diseases, we should be focusing our short-term efforts on silencing the expression of their epigenetic triggers, which begins with diet, lifestyle, and environment.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
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According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
Still, there are many misconceptions about heart disease: "The biggest misconception is that heart disease only happens to the elderly," said Elizabeth Schilling, CRNP with the Center for Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
So, it is now a wise decision to keep a constant monitoring of your health. Why to take a chance if we have the option. I was in the similar misconception that heart disease are far away waiting for me to get aged. But to my surprise, I was found to be having a calcium deposit in my coronary arteries. I need to have my advance diagnostic scans due reassure whether something really deadly is waiting for me. Though it was some dreadful going on in my life, but I never felt any kind of discomfort in Elitehealth.com advanced diagnostic facility. They were having some of the latest diagnostic equipments and non invasive techniques which made me feel safe.
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