How many CAD genes are there?

For 18 genes in 18 loci, we found that very strong previous experimental evidence supports their relevance for CAD and defined them as “well-known CAD genes”. This role for 15 of them is also supported by bioinformatics studies 46, 47, 48, 49.

What is the history of genetic research on CAD?

The history of genetic research on CAD began with the analysis of families that suffered early-onset MI. In the familial analysis, the method called linkage analysis was mainly used, which assumes that the disease is caused by a single, high-penetrance genetic mutation and is transmitted from generation to generation according to Mendelian laws.

Does CAD have a genetic underpinning?

Despite limitations, our study contributes to a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of CAD by supporting the results of previous annotation efforts, resolving some uncertainty issues by consolidating data from different sources, and outlining new research directions by suggesting novel CAD candidate genes.

Is CAD a heritable disease?

Twin studies report a heritability of 40–60% for fatal CAD 7, 8 and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to date have identified 208 susceptibility loci 9, 10. These loci explain a modest fraction (~15%) of this heritability, have largely been identified in European populations, and are exclusively autosomal 9, 10.