HIGH blood pressure is one of the most common health concerns in Britain. Scientists believe that taking this pill could cut risk for some patients. By Sophie Roberts / Published 18th September 2018 High blood pressure affects 25% off the British population.The common condition, which is also known as hypertension, increases patients’ heart attack and stroke risk.For this reason, doctors have been looking into ways they can alleviate symptoms.Some believe that taking a £1.30 diabetes pill every day could help millions of people in the UK. Related Articles Coconut oil WARNING: Health expert reveals why 'healthy' food is 'worse than lard' Energy drinks ban: Shocking caffeine content of Britain's favourite products REVEALED What is YOUR heart age? Take this quick quiz to find out your stroke risk Queen Mary University and Imperial College London recently collaborated on a study.Scientists analysed DNA from 500,000 Brits, before identifying who was most … [Read more...] about High blood pressure BREAKTHROUGH: Risk could be cut by this £1.30 pill
Genetic risk score
World’s biggest blood pressure genetics study ‘most major advance to date’
News by Press Association 17/09/2018, 4:00 pm FacebookTwitterWhatsAppEmail Send us a story Sign up to our Daily newsletter DNA samples from more than one million people have helped scientists identify 500 new gene regions influencing blood pressure. The British-led global study, the biggest of its kind ever conducted, increases the number of known genetic regulators of blood pressure to more than 1,000. Scientists can now explain almost a third of the heritable risk factors for high blood pressure, or hypertension. Understanding the genetic causes of high blood pressure could potentially prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes in the UK each year, according to the British Heart Foundation. Lead researcher Professor Mark Caulfield, from Queen Mary, University of London, said: “This is the most major advance in blood pressure genetics to date. “We now know that there are over 1,000 genetic signals which influence our blood pressure. This … [Read more...] about World’s biggest blood pressure genetics study ‘most major advance to date’
Multi-gene test may find risk of heart disease and more
WASHINGTON — You know your cholesterol, your blood pressure... your heart gene score? Researchers say a new way of analyzing genetic test data may one day help identify people at high risk of a youthful heart attack in time to help. Today, gene testing mostly focuses on rare mutations in one or a few genes, like those that cause cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease, or the BRCA gene responsible for a small fraction of breast cancer. It is less useful for some of the most common diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes, because they are influenced by vast numbers of genes-gone-wrong working together in complicated ways. Monday, researchers reported a new way to measure millions of small genetic variations that add up to cause harm, letting them calculate someone's inherited risk for the most common form of heart disease and four other serious disorders. The potential cardiac impact: They estimated that up to 25 million Americans may have triple the average person's risk for … [Read more...] about Multi-gene test may find risk of heart disease and more
Five million Brits have TRIPLE the normal risk of heart attack despite displaying NO warning symptoms
FIVE million Brits have at least triple the normal risk of having a heart attack even though they have no warning symptoms, a shocking study has revealed. Millions of other people are also at a much higher risk of conditions including bowel disease, breast cancer and type 2 diabetes, due to their genetics, the study found. But because they show no warning signs they are unlikely to be unaware they suffer from an increased risk. The scientists behind the research, which was published in the journal Nature Genetics, said they hoped everyone could be given a “heart attack score” from birth that would tell their chances of suffering a heart condition on their basis of their genetics alone. Coronary heart disease is the number one cause leading to death worldwide. In the UK alone it is responsible for 66,000 deaths every year. Being aware of which people are at great risk could mean doctors could take steps earlier to take counter measures, such as prescribing statins or telling … [Read more...] about Five million Brits have TRIPLE the normal risk of heart attack despite displaying NO warning symptoms
Genome screening study flags up individuals at risk of chronic disease
A ground-breaking study has brought population-wide screening for genetic faults linked to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer a major step closer.American scientists used information from the UK Biobank database to identify genetic variants that increase the risk of five common disorders.The results enabled them to produce “polygenic risk scores” for more than 400,000 patients, showing how likely they were to develop one of the diseases.In future, a similar approach could be used to identify at-risk patients at birth, say the researchers.The conditions studied were coronary artery disease, the abnormal heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation, Type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and breast cancer.To carry out the analysis, a computer was programmed to scour more than six million locations in the complete human genetic code, or genome.The system identified many symptomless patients who may otherwise have been missed or only spotted at a late … [Read more...] about Genome screening study flags up individuals at risk of chronic disease