Genetic Basis for Coronary Artery Disease?

A number of genetic loci have been suggested to be potentially associated with risk for coronary artery disease. In a case-control study of 811 patients who presented with acute CAD (roughly 75% myocardial infarction, and the rest unstable angina) and 650 age- and sex-matched controls without CAD, researchers genotyped 85 variants of 70 genes previously reported to be associated with CAD. They identified these studies via a systematic review of the literature and, to minimize racial confounding, selected only cases and controls who self-reported their race as white. Using several statistical approaches and adjusting for multiple potential confounders, they found that none of the 85 variants were more common in cases than in controls.