New insights into genetic risks for heart attack in young women
Research offers hope of improving treatment for little understood condition
Testosterone therapy doesn ’ t increase cardiovascular risk
Treatment is associated with other health risks and isn ’ t recommended for men without low testosterone
Testosterone replacement therapy didn ’ t lead to an increase in serious cardiac events like heart attacks and strokes in middle-aged and older men with low testosterone and a high risk for cardiovascular disease , according to the Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Assessment of Long-term Vascular Events and E�cacy Response in Hypogonadal Men trial .
This research reversed previous findings from a smaller study conducted in 2010 , which involved 209 individuals and showed men receiving testosterone were five times more likely to have heart attacks . The new study enrolled 5,198 men who either received daily testosterone gel or placebo for about 22 months , with no significant difference in major cardiac events . Indeed , one such event occurred in 182 patients ( 7 percent ) in the testosterone group and in 190 patients ( 7.3 percent ) in the placebo group . But men who received testosterone gel did see a higher incidence of atrial fibrillation ( heart rhythm abnormality ), acute kidney injury , and issues arising from blood clots in the veins . “ Although the trial showed some evidence that testosterone treatment may be safe for men with low levels of testosterone , these findings should not be used as a justification for widespread prescription of these products to large numbers of men ,” said senior author Dr Steven Nissen , Chief Academic O�cer of the Heart , Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic .
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team of international researchers has identified a series of genes that increase the risk for spontaneous coronary artery dissection ( SCAD ), a poorly understood type of heart attack that often affects young or middle-aged women .
SCAD is a bruise or bleed in the wall of a coronary artery that stops blood flow to a section of the heart , leading to a heart attack that can strike out of the blue , especially healthy women under the age of 60 . Since it ’ s unclear why SCAD develops , it ’ s not possible to prevent it .
The researchers analysed several studies involving 1,917 SCAD cases and 9,292 people without the condition and they found 16 genes increasing the risk for SCAD . For instance , lower expression of the tissue factor gene F3 , which is involved in blood coagulation , is associated with a higher risk of SCAD . A similar association was found with the gene THSD4 .
�This research confirms that there are multiple genes involved in determining the risk of a person having a SCAD . These genes give us the first key insight into the underlying causes of this disease and provide new lines of enquiry , which we hope will guide future new treatment approaches ,” Dr David Adlam , Associate Professor of Acute and Interventional Cardiology at the University of Leicester and lead author of the study , said in a press release .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 3 | 2023
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