Question: Can heart disease be caused by genetics as well as environment?

Katie Skeffington answered on 25 Jun 2012:

Hey,

Good question! Yes, your genetics can affect your risk of having heart disease. Different genes may affect structural features of the heart, and how the molecules involved in making the heart pump work. However, environmental factors such as how much you eat and exercise can also greatly affect your risk of heart disease. Fewer people know that the environment you were exposed to when your Mum was pregnant with you can also affect your risk of heart disease – there is good evidence that what your mother ate and how much oxygen she got when she was pregnant with you can affect your risk of getting heart disease 50-60 years later!

So your risk of heart disease is a combination of three things – your genetics (which you can’t do much about), your prenatal environment (which you can’t do much about) and your current environment (which you can do something about!!)