Genetics linked to increased risk of heart disease in African Americans

New research published in BMC Medicine has revealed clear genetic markers that help to explain why cardiovascular disease is more prevalent in African Americans compared to Caucasians.

It has been known for some time that African Americans are more prone to certain diseases than people of white ethnicity, but this small scale study shows for the first time what the reasons for this might be, at the genetic level. In particular, the researchers from the Vascular Biology Department at the University of Minnesota found that the blood outgrowth endothelial cells of African Americans respond differently to shear stress.

Read the original article at BMC Medicine: Differential endothelial cell gene expression by African Americans versus Caucasian Americans: a possible contribution to health disparity in vascular disease and cancer

Read the press release I wrote about this article at BioMed Central: Genetics linked to increased risk of heart disease in African Americans