After analysis, the researchers found an absolute cardiovascular disease risk of 3 percent over 10 years in the lowest tertile (group) of genetic risk (73-99 risk alleles) and 3.7 percent in the highest tertile (106-125 risk alleles). However, after adjustment for traditional factors, the genetic risk score was not associated with cardiovascular disease risk. "In contrast, family history of premature [heart attack] remained an independent risk factor for incident cardiovascular disease even after adjustment," the authors write.

"We believe these data have clinical relevance for several reasons. First, genome-wide testing is increasingly available and marketed to the general public. Our study finds no clinical utility in a multilocus panel of SNPs for cardiovascular risk based on the best available literature. Second, our data confirm the utility of intermediate phenotypes such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure in as much as genetic risk scores were no longer significant after adjustment for these phenotypes," the researchers write. "Third, our findings confirm the importance of family history of cardiovascular disease, which integrates shared genetics, shared behaviors, and environmental factors. At the same time, we believe that our data suggest areas for further biomarker research, which may improve prediction."

"While the importance of genetic data in understanding biology and etiology is unchallenged, we did not find evidence in this study of more than 19,000 women to incorporate the current body of known genetic markers into formal clinical tools for cardiovascular risk assessment."

SOURCE JAMA