Men can inherit one of the most common heart disease the coronary artery disease, says new research.

Scientists at the University of Leicester, England, discovered that the Y chromosome the portion of DNA that determines male gender plays a role in the inheritance of coronary artery disease (CAD), a disorder that causes thousands of deaths every year.


The research, published in the journal Lancet, studied the DNA of more than 3,000 men found that a particular version of this chromosome increases the risk of CAD by 50%.

As many as one in five men have this version of the Y chromosome

The coronary artery disease is caused by narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the heart, which causes the muscle does not have enough oxygen.

This may eventually lead to angina, chest tightness, and stroke.

According to the British Heart Foundation, which funded this study, the EAC in the UK caused 88,236 deaths in 2008, of which about 50,000 were men.

Experts know that men develop heart disease at least a decade earlier than women.

For when they turn 40, your risk of heart disease is one in every two men and one in three women.

The lifestyle factors such as smoking and hypertension are major contributors.
Now researchers at Leicester found that heredity also plays an important role in CAD, the most common heart disease.

Inherited risk

Maciej Dr Tomaszewski and his team studied 3,233 unrelated British men who were participating in other medical studies on the risk of heart disease.

“Doctors often associated with the Y chromosome with masculinity and fertility but this shows that is also implicated in heart disease”

Dr. Maciej Tomaszewski

The researchers subjected participants to genetic testing and found that 90% had one of two common versions of the Y chromosome haplogroup I and haplogroup called R1b1b2.

The risk of CAD among men who have the version of haplogroup I is 50% higher than the rest.

As expressed scientist now need to identify precisely which genes on the Y chromosome responsible for this risk.

But you know how to exert their detrimental effect: altering the individual’s immune system.

“We are very excited about these findings because they put the Y chromosome map of genetic susceptibility of coronary artery disease,” said Dr. Tomaszewski, professor, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the university.

“Doctors often associated with the Y chromosome with masculinity and fertility, but this shows that is also implicated in heart disease.”

The researcher adds that eventually, the finding may lead to new ways to treat and prevent disease in men and the development of a genetic test to identify those who are most at risk.

Meanwhile, he says, men should concentrate on reducing known risk factors and may be modified, such as daily exercise and eating a healthy diet to keep your blood pressure control and cholesterol.

For his part, Dr. Helene Wilson of the British Heart Foundation says that “coronary artery disease causes heart attacks and causing tens of thousands of deaths in the UK each year.”

“The choice of an unhealthy lifestyle such as eating poorly and smoking are largely responsible, but inherited factors in DNA are also part of the picture.”

“The next step is to identify the genes responsible and how to increase the risk of a heart attack,” he adds.