Do doctors use genetics or family history when assessing a persons risk of having a heart attack?
Dr. Krauss: Risk for early heart disease tends to run in families. Therefore, taking a family history is strongly recommended when assessing a person’s risk of having a heart attack. However, it is sometimes difficult to use family history as a definitive test, because oftentimes this information is incomplete and families may not be large enough to know if there is a strong genetic component involved. 23andMe: Recent genetic studies have enabled scientists to identify genetic markers that may be associated with increased risk of heart attack. Do you think this information can be useful for clinical practice? Dr. Krauss: These are very recent discoveries and, in most cases, we do not know what these SNPs are actually doing to increase an individual’s risk of heart disease. Until we have a better understanding of the full spectrum of genetic variations that contribute to heart disease risk, DNA testing will not be recommended for physicians to use in their clinical practice. There are,
