The 9p21 Genotype and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Dosage of an at-risk variant appears to increase the risk for severe coronary artery disease, but the clinical implications of the genotype remain unclear.

The association of the chromosome 9p21 locus with risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (MI), or both, is well established. To find out whether gene dosage influences the severity of CAD, investigators at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute genotyped 950 adults with early-onset CAD (mean age, 56) and 764 with late-onset CAD (mean age, 70) for the rs1333049 risk variant. All participants were nondiabetic and had at least one epicardial stenosis of >50%. The main outcomes of interest were the associations between 9p21 genotype and the proportions of patients with three-vessel disease, one-vessel disease, left main trunk disease, and history of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

In the early-onset cohort, …

Reviewing Author

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)