Genetic causes of myocardial infarction: new insights from genome-wide association studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A positive family history for myocardial infarction (MI) is known to be a major cardiovascular risk factor. The current European guidelines therefore recommend intensified primary prevention for the siblings and children of persons who have had an MI. Although the genes underlying the heritable component of MI were largely unknown previously, the development of new molecular genetic methods, and particularly the advent of genome-wide association (GWA) studies, has led to the discovery of numerous genetic variants that are associated with an elevated risk of MI.

Methods

In this article, we review GWA studies on MI and coronary heart disease (CHD) that were retrieved by a selective literature search from 2007 onward. We comment on their implications for clinical pra

SUBMITTER: Erdmann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2965371 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature