Heart Health Risk Test
In the last decade, studies in men and women have shown that inflammation is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in North America. Recent scientific discoveries indicate that some of the risk for cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, is due to variations in the genes that we inherit. Just as with conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes, the presence of one or more of these DNA variations does not mean that an individual will develop cardiovascular disease. However, using knowledge about genetic risk factors to make informed choices about diet and lifestyle may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a disease in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure and arrhythmias. CAD is the most common type of heart disease and it is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. Lifestyle changes, medicines, and/or medical procedures can effectively prevent or treat CAD in most people. Over 105 million American adults have total blood cholesterol values of 200 mg/dL and higher, and 36.6 million American adults have levels of 240 or above. Doctors consider total cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or greater high in adults and levels from 200 to 239 mg/dL borderline-high.
Recent studies, including the Jupiter study published in 2008, have shown that excess inflammation is as powerful a predictor of heart attacks as high LDL cholesterol levels. Our heart health genetic test analyzes two IL-1 genes for variations that identify an individual’s predisposition for over-expression of inflammation and which may cause an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. This test is not intended to and does not diagnose an existing disease but rather is intended for apparently healthy individuals to help assess their risk for future disease. The genetic test is based on data from genetic association studies obtained through collaborations with experts in cardiovascular disease at leading academic institutions. This genetic test provides risk information independent of traditional risk factors, including family history, hypertension and smoking, in assessing risk for heart disease. This test panel was first introduced in the Alticor North American channel in the first quarter of 2006. To date, we have determined that the high-risk patterns are commonly found in all major ethnic populations and thus far have been demonstrated to correlate strongly to disease in Caucasian populations. We have data from genetic association studies on cardiovascular disease being analyzed for Korean and Chinese populations to determine how the risk assessment test will translate into other ethnic groups in specific environments.
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