Does Measuring Genetic Variations at Chromosome 9p21.3 Help to Predict Cardiovascular Disease in Women?
Cardiovascular disease (which includes heart attacks and strokes) is a major cause of death. Traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease include age; family history; cholesterol levels; diabetes; high blood pressure; smoking; and, more recently, C-reactive protein levels. Doctors can use equations based on these traditional risk factors to estimate the chances that a patient will develop cardiovascular disease. We have learned that genetic factors are also linked to a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease. One such risk factor is genotype on chromosome 9 at location 9p21.3. It is unclear how much measuring genetic factors would improve the ability to predict the risk for cardiovascular disease. Genetic factors can be more complicated and expensive to measure than the traditional risk factors listed above.
