Recent research featured CT angiography to show patients with early onset coronary artery disease (CAD) had nearly six times the amount of coronary plaque compared to control populations.
The authors, led by Morten K. Christiansen, MD, from the department of cardiology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, noted in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging the differences might have been more extreme had they chosen asymptomatic controls.
“The extent of CAD in relatives was remarkable,” wrote the authors, including lead researcher Morten K. Christiansen, MD, from the department of cardiology at Aarhus University Hospital, where the trial was conducted. “The present findings indicate that the risk of CAD associated with a genetic predisposition is comparable to the risk conveyed by known risk factors such as diabetes, familial hypercholesterolemia, and stroke.”
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Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.