Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Family History Re-emerges as a Key Risk Factor

Having a least one parent who has had a heart attack doubles the person’s own risk for having one too. This risk is in addition to other factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol, according to INTERHEART, an international study. Family history was cited as a risk factor in the 1950’s, but Harvard’s classic Framingham study beginning in the 1970’s omitted family history from its risk score. This is a good example of how prescription drugs have dominated medical therapies in recent years. Getting answers from research depends on the questions one asks. Drug companies sponsor the majority of our research. That research serves their own interest. Common sense can be left behind.

See American Journal of Cardiology (click here). 2011;57:619-27.

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