heart disease

23andMe announced this week that it would add access to genetic information to ResearchKit, an open source framework introduced by Apple that allows researchers and developers to create powerful apps...

February is American Heart Month and a time to focus on what remains the nation’s number one killer – heart disease – which is responsible for one in three deaths...

A recent study in The Lancet reported that variation on the Y chromosome is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in British men. Here, we discuss the special properties of the Y chromosome and their implications for association studies, our concerns about the evidence the authors use to support their finding, and observations from the 23andMe database for haplogroup I and heart disease.

A genetic variant in the KIF6 gene has been controversially linked to heart disease and statin response. In 2010 it looked like the tide was turning and that there was no association after all, but now new research suggests that the relationship may simply be a little more complex.

Not too long ago I was a sedentary, slightly-overweight, South Asian man entering my thirties. Like everyone I know, I felt that the less I saw my doctor, the better. Most importantly, by medical standards, I had no reason to consider myself predisposed to heart disease. Not long ago, my 23andMe data changed my story. (Read on for a personal story of how 23andMe results prompted someone to learn some valuable information about his family's medical history and make important changes for his health.)

Study after study has shown that high blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. But what hasn’t been clear...

Genome-wide association studies, the research projects that connect SNPs to different traits and conditions (and fuel much of the 23andMe Health and Traits feature), focus on fairly common genetic variations...