Heart diseases often tend to cluster around some families. There are certain factors to run in the family which predispose to individual Premature Coronary Artery Disease.

More specifically, if any blood relation including parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts or first cousins has had a heart attack or a stroke or was detected with a cardiac condition before 60, it could point towards a family history of premature heart disease. It predisposes to premature coronary disease, heart attack, heart failure.

Distinction between family history and inherited conditions:

# Mutation in one or multiple genes can lead to inherited conditions, which means if your mother or father has a faulty gene, you could inherit it. Some widely reported inherited conditions include diseases of the heart muscle, heart rhythm disturbances and high cholesterol level.

# Family history is a more layered concept. It may not be the case of only one defective gene, but a cocktail of shared genes and circumstances handed down to the next generation, thus seriously raising the risk of getting a disease.

Managing Family History and Risk

What can you do?

You cannot alter genetics or rewrite your family history. But you can lean towards a healthy lifestyle or take some medications to lower the risk of developing a heart disease or delay in onset of the disease.

Quitting smoking or any other form of nicotine (khaini, ghutka, nossi, pan masala etc)
Exercising regularly
Sticking to a heart-healthy diet
Controlling hypertension and cholesterol level
Managing diabetes better
Watching weight
Managing stress

If there is a family history of premature cardiac illness, it is extremely important that you consult a heart specialist as soon as possible. The cardiologist can do a proper cardiac evaluation and then advise certain lifestyle modifications and perhaps some medication to ringfence you against a similar heart condition. Sometimes, a genetic screening might also be recommended.

There are means available now to delay the onset of ischemic heart disease. Suppose in families where there is a history of early onset of heart disease, adequate management of cholesterol can prevent the disease and delay the onset of the disease.

If you have a family history, what are your risk factors?

When a blood relation has a heart condition, it could be passed on to you via shared genes. Besides genes, there is a propensity among families to also share certain practices and behaviours which can elevate their risks of similar conditions. These traits or conditions would typically include:

The environment: If the family resides in a location where the atmosphere is severely polluted, it might increase risk
Lifestyle: Factors like smoking, high levels of stress and lack of exercise can also seriously amp up chances of developing a cardiac condition
Diet: Excessive amounts of salt, sugar and fat in the diet can also add to the risk
Obesity: Being overweight, which is often the result of lack of a sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet, can also be a significant risk factor

A study in The New England Journal of Medicine which has mapped the contribution of both genetic and lifestyle factors to the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) has unearthed a 200% risk for a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or a stroke.

However, it is not all gloom and doom, since having a family history of a cardiac condition doesn’t necessarily ordain you to develop a similar condition. There are countless people around the world who have a known family history of heart disease but manage their risk by maintaining a healthy lifestyle through a heart-healthy diet and exercises to regulate cholesterol level. So, there’s no reason why you can’t do it too.