Genetic Variant Ups Women’s Heart Attack Risk

Women who have a common variation in the gene for the alpha type estrogen receptor (ESR1) face an increased risk of a heart attack after menopause, researchers report.

Women who have a common variation in the gene for the alpha type estrogen receptor (ESR1) face an increased risk of a heart attack after menopause, researchers report. Dr. Stephanie C. E. Schuit and colleagues from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, evaluated 2617 men and 3791 postmenopausal women for the variant form of the ESR1 gene. As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, roughly 78 percent of both women and men had either one or two copies of the variant gene. During an average 7-year follow up period, 115 women and 170 men had a heart attack and 168 women and 272 men had a heart disease-related event. In 97 of these cases the person died. After taking account of other established cardiovascular risk factors, the team found that women carriers of the variant gene had more than two-fold higher odds of having a heart attack compared with noncarriers. The risk for other heart-related episodes was also raised to a similar degree. In men, there was no apparent association between the ESR1 variant and heart attacks or other heart problems. In fact, if anything, it seemed to lower their risk. It should be noted, Schuit and colleagues emphasize, that 78 percent of the population carries the ESR1 variant. “Perhaps we should view this not as a ‘risk’ allele but consider the noncarriers as having a protective (genetic make-up).” (SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association: Reuters Health News: Megan Rauscher: June 2004.)