Cardiovascular disease
First the good news: Death rates from coronary heart disease and stroke declined over the past decade. Now the bad: Heart disease is still the single leading cause of death in America and stroke is third. Stroke is also the leading cause of serious long-term disability.
The primary culprit behind these grim statistics is atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty deposits (significantly cholesterol) and other substances within our blood vessels over time. Get enough buildup and blood flow is reduced. The buildup can also lead to blood clots that actually cut off blood flow. If the blood supply is blocked in a blood vessel that feeds the heart, it’s called a heart attack. If it feeds the brain, the result is a stroke.
Just about everyone knows that behavior and environmental factors—tobacco, diet, activity level—play a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease. Genetics provides us with different levels of susceptibility too.
Relatively recent breakthroughs with the drugs known as statins demonstrate the value of being able to adjust our bodies’ abilities to process cholesterol. And knowing individual genetic susceptibilities to cardiovascular disease would greatly aid preventative care.
Jackson Laboratory research – Cardiovascular disease
Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory are honing in on the complex gene networks that influence cardiovascular funtion and cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Of particular interest is an effort to home in on the genes that control high density lipoprotein (HDL – the “good” cholesterol) in the blood.
