Good Lifestyle

Heart disease remains the main cause of death worldwide, representing One in three deaths , however, many of his victims show no obvious warning sign before a deadly event. Although traditional risks assessments such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking status and family history - are used for a long time to predict cardiovascular events, they often lack high genetic risk.

A powerful but underused tool that could change this is the polygenic risk score (PRS), cardiologist Eric Topol , MD, wrote in a guest column For Washington Post Earlier this week.

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What is the polygenic risk score?

Unlike monogenic risk assessments, which are looking for variants of unique genes that can cause a disease, polygeenic risk scores (PR) aggregate the effects of thousands of genetic variants through the genome that contribute to the risk of a disease.

For heart disease, in particular coronary disease (CAD), researchers have identified several common genetic markers who have small effects individually, but when combined, can predict powerfully which is at a higher genetic risk.

"You may have a high or low risk of heart disease that is different from your family scheme," wrote Topol. "People with a high polygenic risk score most benefit from the downward drugs of cholesterol, such as statins."

The tests already help some doctors to identify genetic conditions that are difficult to detect that could silently put patients in danger. For example, a UK study found that among patients who had a genetic variant known as family hypercholesterolemia (FH), one in five would develop a coronary disease at the age of 70, against one in 20 in the general population.

This study and others have found that the evaluation of PRs and the establishment of high -risk patients on statins considerably reduced their chances of undergoing a major unwanted cardiovascular event.

In relation: Taking 1 common medication could prevent 100,000 heart attacks per year, research reveals research .

Can I take a PRS test?

Unfortunately, despite its predictive strength, Prs is rarely included in routine care. This is due in part to the novelty of technology, concerns about accessibility and lack of awareness of clinicians and patients.

However, the integration of PRs into early screening could move the paradigm of reactivity to preventive care. In addition to affecting screening and using drugs, identifying early genetic risk could also cause the adoption of healthy cardiac habits earlier in life.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 80% Cardiac diseases are avoidable, and many of them can be checked using lifestyle interventions.

"Heart disease is the main killer in the United States, and the process does not start overnight," Pradeep Natarajan , MD, MMSC, said speaking with Harvard Medicine: the magazine of the Harvard Medical School . "Often it starts early enough, but our clinical tools recognize high -risk individuals too late, missing to prevent premature heart attacks."

Those who seek to reduce their risk should predict the exercise regularly, following an anti-inflammatory diet, to maintain healthy weight, to monitor blood pressure and blood sugar, to quit smoking and to have a lot of high quality sleep.

Receiving lipid routine blood panels, even if you have no symptoms of heart disease, can also help your doctor identify anomalies.

While research continues to refine RP and improve its precision and access, its role in clinical care is likely to develop. In the meantime, talking to your doctor about genetic tests thanks to a commercial test service could help you adopt a more proactive position against heart disease.