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Cardiovascular genetics

Cardiovascular Genetics - A typical family tree representing a family (circles /females, squares/males) with a dominant form of heart disease (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia), showing that affected members (filled circles or squares) only have to receive a defective gene from one parent.


Risk of heart disease often runs in families, suggesting a genetic influence. These may be single gene defects or many genes which together increase risk of heart disease. To identify precisely the genes involved, a consortium has been established at UCL which enables us to study more than 25,000 healthy individuals followed over many years for the development of heart disease. In the future this may lead to the development of genetic tests that will help identify those at risk of early heart disease so they can be offered lifestyle and therapeutic measures to reduce their risk.

Primary areas of research

Page last modified on 07 nov 12 17:16