Genetic Double Whammy

2 Pages 386 Words

In the article entitled “Genetic double-whammy in blacks bad for their hearts”, it is implied that two pairs of genes that rarely occur in whites appear to be responsible for an accelerated risk of heart failure among black people who have both pairs. According to Dr. Stephen B Liggett of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, this particular combination plays a role in at least one-quarter of the cases of congestive heart failure.

Dr. Liggett’s study has produced some rather interesting results. Doctors have long know that heart disease among people of African origin is more likely to occur than in people who have descended from Europe. Some doctors have even suggested that blacks receive inferior care, possibly from unconscious prejudice from health care providers. This study helps disprove that theory and sheds light on the genetic conditions rather that racism.

Of the nearly 4.8 million American citizens who suffer from congestive heart failure, 733,500 of them are of African decent. The study also shows that the disease shows up earlier and is more apt to cause serious complications in blacks than whites. It’s interesting that blacks do not get the full benefit from, or they need higher doses of ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers. These are the most common groups of medicines for heart disease. Dr. Liggett could not determine why these differences occur. It is known that some preventable conditions such as high-blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, and obesity increase the risk of heart disease regardless of genetics.

One of the pairs of the genes in question increases the production of a chemical that causes an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and the hearts ability to contract and relax. The other pair of genes makes heart cells that can take up the chemical, norepinephrine, more sensitive to it. Since the pair that produces that excess norepinephrine is tem times as ...