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Most of us are aware that lifestyle affecting factors such as smoking and diet contribute to the emerging of coronary artery disease (CAD). But having genes as one of its precipitating factors adds a different touch to the picture.

Dr. Tomaszewski and his colleagues conducted a research on 3,233 British men and found out that 90 percent of genetic tests showed that such individuals carried one out of two common Y chromosome versions. These chromosomes are named haplogroup 1 and haplogroup R1b1b2. It also revealed that the men who carried the former version had a 50 percent higher risk for CAD. Still the researchers need to identify which particular genes on the Y chromosome are associated with such.

The leading scientist said, “We are very excited about these findings as they put the Y chromosome on the map of genetic susceptibility to coronary artery disease. Doctors usually associated the Y chromosome with maleness and fertility but this shows it is also implicated in heart disease.”

Such discovery could allow the medical team to spot those at risk of developing the disease and prevention management can then be put through.

However, Dr. Tomaszewski further encourages persons at risk to follow a healthy lifestyle to avoid contracting such. There are already known modifiable factors that can be controlled, and people should at the moment focus on those.

A specialist from the British Heart Foundation who also funded the project, Dr. Helene Wilson stated, “Coronary heart disease is the cause of heart attacks, which claim the lives of around 50,000 UK men every year. Lifestyle choices such as poor diet and smoking are major causes, but inherited factors carried in DNA are also part of the picture. The next step is to identify specifically which genes are responsible and how they might increase heart attack risk.”