Genetic risk of abnormal heart shape and function
A child’s heart is about the size of a fist. An adult heart is about the size of two fists. It has 4 chambers, or sections. One way valves between them control the flow of blood. The shape of these sections and valves is about the same in everyone. But, sometimes, a disease or condition can cause shape changes. High blood pressure can cause one of the chamber’s walls to get thick. It can change the way our heart works. This can put you at risk for a heart attack or stroke. We may also be born with a shape change in our heart. Some of these we may never notice. But others may cause a disease. Some people are born with a valve that doesn’t open and close right. This can cause a type of heart disease. Doctors have to fix some of these right away. Other valve issues may take most of our life before they cause any problems. Gene changes can also play a role. Some raise our risk for getting certain diseases. Both the kind that causes heart defects. And the kind that cause other diseases that lead to changes in our heart. Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center want to know more about both. They will use BioVU to study gene changes that affect the heart. They found some gene changes linked to heart shape changes. They will use BioVU to double check those. Then, they will check if these same gene changes link to heart diseases. They will also look for other diseases linked to the gene changes. The goal is to learn more about gene changes that affect the shape of the heart. Both those that cause heart defects. And those that may put us at risk for diseases that can affect our heart. They hope to predict who might be at risk for heart changes. Their results might help us better treat patients with heart changes. Or better manage diseases that can cause heart shape changes.