![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/genetic-tests-could-save-patients-at-invisible-danger-of-heart-attacks-and-strokes/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000303478881_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg&description=Genetic tests can identify thousands of middle-aged people at risk of heart attacks and strokes who would otherwise be 'invisible' to the NHS, a pilot study has found. GPs currently offer statins to around eight million people in England, based on checks including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. But NHS research involving people aged 45 to 64 found around one-quarter of people were given a different risk profile if genetic tests were also included. If tests were routinely offered to everyone in this age group, about 700,000 extra people would be offered statins. As a result, up to 11,000 heart attacks and strokes could be prevented within a decade, said scientists. The NHS study, called Heart, offered genetic tests to nearly 1,000 people aged 45 to 64, in the hope of better predicting their risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years. Doctors at 12 GP surgeries in the north-east and north Cumbria found that the calculated risk of heart disease based on routine measures such as family history, blood pressure, body mass index and smoking status changed for about a quarter of participants when their DNA was taken into account. In 13 per cent of cases, GPs said the increase in risk was significant enough to change their treatment of the patient - for example, by offering statins. Tests could mean earlier treatment The results, from the world's first pilot investigating the use of genomic 'polygenic risk score testing" to support the prevention of cardiovascular disease in NHS clinical practice, were unveiled at the American Heart Association Annual World Congress. Researchers said the findings meant patients who would otherwise have been 'invisible' to the NHS could be offered better advice and medication to lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes. Prof Sir Peter Donnelly, the founder and chief executive of Genomics, the company that developed the genetic tests, said: 'We hope that this is an important first step towards a more wides){kind=link}
Routinely offering DNA risk assessments could identify 700,000 extra people who need statins, pilot study finds
Genetic tests can identify thousands of middle-aged people at risk of heart attacks and strokes who would otherwise be “invisible” to the NHS, a pilot study has found.
GPs currently offer statins to around eight million people in England, based on checks including blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
But NHS research involving people aged 45 to 64 found around one-quarter of people were given a different risk profile if genetic tests were also included.
If tests were routinely offered to everyone in this age group, about 700,000 extra people would be offered statins.