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• Posted November 18, 2024

Your Heart's Shape Could Affect Your Health

It's long been known that certain structural qualities of the human heart -- its size, chamber volume -- can influence cardiovascular health.

British scientists say they're now discovering that the gene-directed shape of a person's heart might matter, too.

“This study provides new information on how we think about heart disease risk,” said study senior author Patricia Munroe, a professor of molecular medicine at Queen Mary University of London.

“We've long known that size and volume of the heart matter, but by examining shape, we’re uncovering new insights into genetic risks," she explained in a university news release.

The finding that a heart's shape might also play a role matter "could provide valuable additional tools for clinicians to predict disease earlier and with more precision," Monroe said.

Her team published its findings Nov. 14 in the journal Nature.

The new study relied on data from the massive UK Biobank project. The Biobank contains detailed information on participants' genetics and medical histories.

Using that data, Monroe's team were able to create 3D models of the heart ventricles of about 40,000 people taking part in the Biobank.

The researchers were able to correlate 45 areas of the human genome with heart ventricle shape, 14 of which had not been known to influence heart development and function.

Beyond that, the team was able to formulate 11 distinct "shape dimensions" that encompass all the primary variations in heart shape. 

According to the researchers, the findings lay the groundwork for a whole new approach to understanding how a person's genetics might influence their lifetime risk for various cardiovascular problems.

“This study sets an important foundation for the exploration of genetics in both ventricles,” said study lead author Richard Burns, a statistical geneticist at Queen Mary.

“The study confirms that combined cardiac shape is influenced by genetics, and demonstrates the usefulness of cardiac shape analysis in both ventricles for predicting individual risk of cardiometabolic diseases alongside established clinical measures,” he added in a university news release. 

More information

THere's more on how the heart works at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

SOURCE: Queen Mary University, news release, Nov. 14, 2024