The findings suggest that left ventricular hypertrophy is partially determined by genetic disposition. They identify the DD genotype of ACE as a potential genetic marker associated with an elevated risk of left ventricular hypertrophy in middle-aged men.

The prevalences of diastolic abnormalities and diastolic dysfunction are higher than that of systolic dysfunction and are increased (despite age-dependent diagnostic criteria) in the elderly. However, in the absence of risk factors for diastolic abnormalities or diastolic dysfunction, namely LV hypertrophy, arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, obesity and diabetes the condition is rare even in elderly subjects. These data allow speculation on whether diastolic heart failure may be prevented by improved implementation of measures directed against predisposing conditions.

Coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction (MI) are leading causes of death in the western world. Numerous studies have shown that risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia contribute to the development of the disease. Although each risk factor by itself is partly under genetic control, a positive family history is an independent predictor, which suggests that there are additional susceptibility genes. We have scanned the whole genome in 513 families to identify chromosomal regions linked to myocardial infarction and related risk factors that are known to be under genetic control. Here we show, by using variance component analysis and incorporating risk factors, that risk of myocardial infarction maps to a single region on chromosome 14 with a significant lod score of 3.9 (pointwise P=0.00015, genome-wide P<0.05), providing evidence of a principal MI locus. To characterize this locus we analyzed each risk factor by itself. Serum concentrations of lipoprotein (a) show linkage to both the apolipoprotein (a) locus (lod score 26.99) and a new locus on chromosome 1 (lod score 3.8). There is suggestive linkage for diabetes mellitus on chromosome 6 (lod score 2.96), for hypertension on chromosomes 1 and 6, for high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on chromosomes 1 and 17, and for triglyceride concentrations on chromosome 9. Although some of these risk factors overlap with previously identified loci, none overlaps with the newly identified susceptibility locus for myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease.