People younger than 65 account for 45 percent of heart attacks. We have good evidence that heart disease, including heart attacks, runs in families. Heart attacks result from a person's complex genetic makeup and his or her interactions with the environment including what he or she eats, how much he or she exercises and if he or she smokes. To locate and determine the structure and function of one or more genes involved in heart attacks, the scientists will examine blood samples and medical histories of 2,000 people who have heart attacks at an early age. Because heart disease is likely to have various genetic causes, enrolling such a large study population will help the scientists hunt for several genes at the same time, notes Breslow, Frederick Henry Leonhardt Professor and a senior physician at The Rockefeller University Hospital.
All information is kept confidential.
People accepted into the study will be offered free blood cholesterol and lipoprotein analysis and information about modifying their risks of having a heart attack. Participants will not need to come to the university for the study. The scientists will make arrangements to receive patient's medical histories and have samples of their blood analyzed at the Rockefeller University Hospital, the oldest hospital in the United States devoted solely to experimental medicine. Established in 1910, the hospital links laboratory investigations with bedside observations to provide a scientific basis for disease detection, prevention and treatment. This special hospital environment served as the model for the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, opened at the National Institutes of Health in 1953, and similar facilities supported by federal funding at more than 75 medical schools in the United States.