Science, medicine, and the future: Genetics and cardiovascular risk

摘要

Cardiovascular disease is the commonest cause of death in the Western world, and congenital heart disease affects almost 1% of liveborn infants. Both diseases have substantial genetic components. The identification of specific genetic variations that underpin cardiovascular disease is providing new- opportunities for diagnostic testing, pharmacogenetics, and drug development In this review we describe genes that are known to have an important impact on the development of cardiovascular disease and discuss how their identification may improve risk management.