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Is heart disease genetic?
I have a family history of heart disease. Is heart disease genetic?
1 Answer
In most cases, a family history of heart disease is lifestyle related as families often share lifestyles. However, there are some dominant genetic cardiac conditions where a disease variant in a specific gene causes an increased risk for cardiac disease. These contains are relatively common, affecting about 1 in 200 families. If you are concerned about your family history of cardiac disease, you can meet with a genetic counselor to learn more. findageneticcounselor.nsgc.org/