An explanation has been found why men suffer from heart attacks 5 times more often than women. The reason is the changes in the DNA that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
It is a genetic variation of the “male” chromosome Y, which can seriously increase the risk of coronary heart disease, even if the man does not have high blood pressure, does not have high cholesterol and has never smoked before. Dr. Ellen Wilson, Scientific Adviser to the UK charity British Heart Foundation, said that thanks to the research of the scientists from the universities of Leicester and Ballarat in Australia, which had been sponsored by the BHF, it had become clear that hereditary factors as well as bad habits played an important role in heart disease.
Today, men’s heart attack has got “younger”. Compared with women (at least until menopause), one in twelve men dies of the disease at a relatively young age. And hereditary factors play a significant role. Next, the researchers will attempt to find out exactly, which genes are responsible for changes in the DNA of men and how they increase the risk of a heart attack. These studies might be a new method to treat cardiovascular diseases.
