Is heart failure hereditary? Researchers say 'maybe'
A new study, published July 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests heart failure (HF) may be moderately hereditary.
Researchers—led by Magnus P. Lindgren, MD, of the Skåne University Hospital, in Malmö, Sweden—sought to determine the heritability of HF by studying adoptees, born between 1942 and 1990, and their biological and adoptive parents.
“Heart failure aggregates in families, but the heritability of HF has not been determined,” Lindgren and colleagues wrote. “Discerning the genetic and environmental contributions to HF risk is important to further helping to identify individuals at risk. Adoption studies may establish the genetic contribution to HF.”
The study cohort included more than 21,000 adoptees, 35,000 adoptive parents and 43,000 biological parents. The researchers determined the incidences of heart failure by reviewing health data from hospital registers in the Swedish National Patient Register.
There were 194 cases of HF in adoptees, 3,972 cases of HF in adoptive parents and 3,657 cases of HF in biological parents.
The researchers found the risk of HF in adoptees who had at least one biological parent with HF to be 45 percent higher than the control group, with neither biological parent exhibiting HF.
Additionally, the researchers found no increased risk in individuals with adoptive parents with heart failure, compared to the control group. If cardiomyopathies were excluded, the researchers found the risk of HF increased to 58 percent.
Lindgren and colleagues noted their results coincide with two previously published studies that found familial risks of HF in offspring and siblings of affected probands. More importantly, they noted the study extends previous work through the use of adoption design “which thereby facilitates the discernment of environmental and genetic contributions to HF and the estimation of heritability.”
“In conclusion, a history of HF in a biological parent is an important risk factor for HF,” the authors concluded. “The heritability of HF is significant in the Swedish population, which indicates that the further studies search for the genetic variants causing liability for HF are warranted.”
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.