A recent study found that a gene that was already found to be linked to stress is also responsible for a nearly 40% higher risk of heart attack or death from heart disease.
The study followed more than 6,000 heart patients for 6 years, 2,000 of which were women. The study found that 13% of the patients had a variant in gene 5HTR2C that produced an extreme response to stress, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
Analysis discovered that those with the gene variant had a 38% higher risk of heart attack and death. Researchers think the gene variant may have something to do with a blood compound called MMP9 that raises cortisol levels and softens hard arterial plaque. This causes the arteries to burst, which can cause a heart attack or death.
This explains why some people are more susceptible to complications from heart disease and death.
Studies have discovered that when a piece of genetic code gets scrambled just a tiny bit, it can have major changes on how the gene functions, either positively or negatively. These changes are known as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP).
Earlier research investigated men who were under stress and found that they had a single SNP change in their genes that produced twice as much cortisol – the stress hormone – in their bloodstream.
When cortisol is secreted in to the adrenal gland, it produces a biological response that triggers negative emotions, such as fear. It also spikes blood sugar, alters immune response and suppresses systems not immediately required to respond to the perceived event, such as digestion, reproduction and growth.
Researchers believe that the findings will lead to the development of medications and programs that will help reduce complications from heart disease. They foresee that a personalized approach for each person’s individual health – already common with other diseases – will transfer over to personalized medicine in cardiovascular conditions.
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