Early Heart Disease In Parents Linked To Thicker Artery Walls In Offspring

According to researchers, if your parents had coronary heart disease before age 60, the walls of your neck arteries are more likely to be thicker, putting you at higher risk of heart disease, too.

According to researchers, if your parents had coronary heart disease before age 60, the walls of your neck arteries are more likely to be thicker, putting you at higher risk of heart disease, too.Researchers found that compared with people with no parental history of early-onset coronary heart disease (CHD), those with at least one parent who had a heart attack or other coronary event such as chest pain before age 60, had thicker walls in the large carotid arteries of the neck that lead to the brain. Thicker carotid artery walls are associated with a greater degree of atherosclerotic plaque. The study showed that at any age, the average vessel wall thickness of the internal carotid arteries was greater in people with at least one parent who developed CHD before age 60, compared with those without a parental history of early-onset CHD. “The association holds true for both men and women and is significant even after adjustment for other strong risk factors for atherosclerosis such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” said Thomas J. Wang, M.D.”The findings add to multiple studies recognizing that parental history of coronary heart disease is a risk factor for clinical disease and should be taken seriously,” Wang said. “These data support guidelines saying that more rigorous preventive measures should be undertaken if an individual has a family history of heart disease.”(Source: M.S.W.: ZoeMed: Cardiac Life Centre: 29th July 2003)