Could a genetic test ID people who are high risk for heart attack?
Harvard scientist Sekar Kathiresan, MD, believes polygenic risk score could help identify people at high risk for myocardial infarction (MI). Kathiresan, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Initiative at the Broad Institute and a professor at Harvard Medical School, said polygenic risk scores, based on genetic testing, will be as commonly known as cholesterol levels.
Polygenic risk score will identify almost seven million single-letter genetic changes that are more prevalent in individuals who had earlier heart attacks. In total, only 6,000 of the single-letter genetic changes impact the causality of MI. However, determining the specific changes will take time. For now, Kathiresan said, the risk score should be used.
While his approach sounds good in theory, there are some concerns about how the polygenic risk score will compete with so many other diagnostic tests and cost as this test would be the first of its kind.
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As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.