Upbringing ‘plays bigger role’ in heart disease than lifestyle

A HEALTHY adult lifestyle is less important for fending off heart disease than your childhood, a study suggests.

Around two thirds of the influence behind one type of coronary artery blockage is due to upbringing and childhood, the study states, whereas a third is due to adult lifestyle choices such as smoking.

Researchers looked for the main cause of troublesome blockages in coronary arteries which can cut off the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle.

They focused on soft noncalcified plaques which form quickly.

The study’s author, Dr Ádám Domonkos Tárnoki, a radiologist at Semmelweis University in Budapest, said: “These fatty plaques are more dangerous as they can rupture more easily leading to acute coronary occlusion and heart attacks. The calcified plaques, although they can also cause stenosis in coronary arteries, are not so prone to cause acute cardiac events.”

Factors such as upbringing and family and social background were found to have a 63 per cent influence on their formation. Whereas things associated with an unhealthy adult lifestyle, such

as smoking, drinking and inactivity, were grouped into a category called “unique environmental factors” and accounted for just 37 per cent of the risk.

A total of 98 twin dyads aged between 45 and 65 were studied, including 60 pairs of identical twins and 38 non-identical sets. Each twin was asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about their upbringing, family background and lifestyle. The scientists then conducted heart CT scans on each person to establish the build-up of plaques in their coronary arteries.

The study also found genetics play the biggest role in the development of calcified plaques.

Study co-author Dr Dávid László Tárnoki, twin brother of Adam and also a radiologist, added: “Early lifestyle intervention can have a significant relevance in preventing coronary artery diseases.”

While they found noncalcified plaques were mostly driven by upbringing, the same was not true for the calcified plaques, heavily influenced by genetics. Fifty-eight per cent of the coronary artery calcification score and 78 per cent of the calcified plaque volumes were determined genetically, said the study paper which was published in

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Percentage influence of factors such as upbringing and family background in the formation of noncalcified plaques