Siblings With Heart Disease?
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health, has been following a representative sample of the residents of Framingham Massachusetts since 1948, in a study called the Framingham Heart Study. This study has contributed a large volume of knowledge about what causes heart disease to begin, evolve, and to end fatally in the general population.
In 1971 the Framingham Offspring Study began a spin-off of the original study that follows 5,124 of the original participant's children, 28-62 years of age. These individuals have been tracked using standardized, twice yearly cardiovascular exams, daily surveillance of hospital admissions, death information and information from health care providers outside of the study clinic. Researchers hope to understand what differences exist between those who develop heart disease and those who don't over a long time period.
The latest information from the Offspring Study is that if you are middle-aged and have a sibling with heart disease, your risk of developing heart disease is 45% higher than that of people whose siblings have not had heart disease.
Joanne Murabito, M.D., Sc.M., of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study reported these findings in the December 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Murabito and colleagues analyzed the data of 2,475 participants in the offspring group, aged 30 and over, who did not have heart disease at the start of the study. Participants were followed for 8 years and cardiologists or neurologists verified all cardiovascular events.
During this time there were 329 cardiovascular disease events, including 11 heart-related deaths, 8 other cardiovascular deaths, 99 nonfatal cases of myocardial infarction or coronary insufficiency (unstable angina), 106 cases of angina (stable), 59 strokes or transient ischemic attacks, and 46 cases of intermittent claudication (leg pain related to arterial blockages). After adjusting for age, sex, and heart disease risk factors the researchers found that the risk for cardiovascular events is 45% greater for those whose siblings have vascular disease than those who do not when compared to the general population.
The sibling factor was also a stronger predictor of the development of cardiovascular disease than having a parent with premature heart disease, which is a routine screening question that health care providers use to determine an individuals risk of developing heart disease. This research implies that sibling cardiovascular disease is a useful marker of family members' vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. The fact that increased risk remains after adjusting for age, sex, and heart disease risk factors suggests, "a significant proportion of risk is explained by factors other than the traditional risk factors," concluded the researchers. Dr. Murabito noted that the one limitation of this study is that the Town of Framingham's population is primarily white, and therefore these results may not apply to individuals of other ethnic backgrounds.
These results are certainly intriguing and will cause me to ask individuals about their siblings' history of heart disease as I interview them as part of a chest pain evaluation.
Laurie
Related Topics: Heart Disease in Siblings Doubles Your Risk, Real Stories: Living With Heart Disease
In 1971 the Framingham Offspring Study began a spin-off of the original study that follows 5,124 of the original participant's children, 28-62 years of age. These individuals have been tracked using standardized, twice yearly cardiovascular exams, daily surveillance of hospital admissions, death information and information from health care providers outside of the study clinic. Researchers hope to understand what differences exist between those who develop heart disease and those who don't over a long time period.
The latest information from the Offspring Study is that if you are middle-aged and have a sibling with heart disease, your risk of developing heart disease is 45% higher than that of people whose siblings have not had heart disease.
Joanne Murabito, M.D., Sc.M., of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study reported these findings in the December 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Murabito and colleagues analyzed the data of 2,475 participants in the offspring group, aged 30 and over, who did not have heart disease at the start of the study. Participants were followed for 8 years and cardiologists or neurologists verified all cardiovascular events.
During this time there were 329 cardiovascular disease events, including 11 heart-related deaths, 8 other cardiovascular deaths, 99 nonfatal cases of myocardial infarction or coronary insufficiency (unstable angina), 106 cases of angina (stable), 59 strokes or transient ischemic attacks, and 46 cases of intermittent claudication (leg pain related to arterial blockages). After adjusting for age, sex, and heart disease risk factors the researchers found that the risk for cardiovascular events is 45% greater for those whose siblings have vascular disease than those who do not when compared to the general population.
The sibling factor was also a stronger predictor of the development of cardiovascular disease than having a parent with premature heart disease, which is a routine screening question that health care providers use to determine an individuals risk of developing heart disease. This research implies that sibling cardiovascular disease is a useful marker of family members' vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. The fact that increased risk remains after adjusting for age, sex, and heart disease risk factors suggests, "a significant proportion of risk is explained by factors other than the traditional risk factors," concluded the researchers. Dr. Murabito noted that the one limitation of this study is that the Town of Framingham's population is primarily white, and therefore these results may not apply to individuals of other ethnic backgrounds.
These results are certainly intriguing and will cause me to ask individuals about their siblings' history of heart disease as I interview them as part of a chest pain evaluation.
Laurie
All generations experience change. You cannot predict the future, so don't waste any time worrying about it. The challenge you must accept, right now, is to make yourself better every day.
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Business executive
Related Topics: Heart Disease in Siblings Doubles Your Risk, Real Stories: Living With Heart Disease
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1 Comments:
I have just had double by-pass surgery. We just can't seem to get my tyriglisrites down no matter what. I am taking tricor and 2000mg of niaspan. This does run in my family. I excerise and diet.
I also take Levothyroxin as I had hyperthryoidism and no longer have a thyroid gland. My question is could my thyroid problem be the reason why they won't go down. They have gone down some. It all started at 1000 level now my tyriglistrite is 450 which is still to high help
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