How does genetics impact the risk of cardiovascular disease?

Does genetics have a part to play in cardiovascular disease? Yeah, absolutely. If you have a significant family history of heart disease under the age of 60, it's definitely worth getting your cholesterol checked. Absolutely. And, you know, there are, there's, of course, versions of having a high cholesterol like familial hypercholesterolemia. We discussed the case this morning in a meeting where a chap's cholesterol was over seven, and you know that should start ringing alarm bells that actually is so high that that's in the category or above 7.5 it's in the category of familial hypercholesterolemia and so genetics definitely do play a role again i had a young guy who was 42 very thin stick thin was cycling 50 miles twice a week so super fit super healthy he ate very little but his cholesterol was through the roof. And when you asked him about his family history, his father had had a heart attack at the age of 50, his brothers had had heart disease, etc, etc. So, you know, it was clear that there was a genetic predisposition in him to having a high cholesterol and having deposition in the heart arteries. And it wasn't down to his lifestyle or the fact that he was a smoker or anything like that. He was just, you know, had very unfortunate genes in that respect. So genetics definitely do play a role. So however healthy you may look on the outside, especially if you have a family history of heart disease, it's vital that you really get yourself checked and really pay close attention to that.