Are there any genetic causes of cardiovascular disease?

Are there any genetic causes of cardiovascular disease? Yes, so the genetic causes can be divided into those that are very strongly linked to developing certain cardiovascular conditions and those that are more generally linked. In terms of things that are very strongly linked, there are certain diseases that cause elevated high cholesterol in patients which is inherited and so you we sometimes see families with very high cholesterol levels which have a genetic cause. That in turn would put someone at risk of having higher risk of having heart disease. In terms of other sort of very clear genetic links. There are certain genetic risks for developing heart muscle disease such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or other forms of heart muscle disease which can be associated with certain genetic traits. Slightly more loosely there are groups of genes which we are beginning to identify which are associated with a higher risk of developing coronary artery disease, so narrowing of the blood vessels of the heart. However, at present we don't have the tools yet to intervene on or address those directly beyond the key points we've discussed already which are about diet, exercise and if needed medication.