Genetic variation linked to protection against sudden cardiac arrest

The discovery came from a genome-wide association study,which examines the entire set of human genes to detect possible links between genetic variations and specific conditions or diseases.

In the study,the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers compared the genetic makeup of 424 subjects who had experienced sudden cardiac arrest to the DNA of 226 control subjects who had no history of the disorder. All patients had a history of coronary artery disease,which commonly underlies sudden cardiac arrest.

Based on a comparison of the two groups,a genetic variation at the location of the GPC5 gene – a genetic sequence called rs3864180 – was found to be associated with a reduced risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

“If you have this genetic variation in your DNA,it appears that you may have a 15 percent lower likelihood of sudden cardiac arrest,” said Sumeet S. Chugh,M.D.,associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute,holder of The Pauline and Harold Price Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology Research,and one of the senior authors of the study.

“This kind of genetic analysis is not aimed at identifying a single big gene defect or mutation,” he said. “The goal is to identify a series of smaller novel gene defects that,when grouped together,collectively result in either a protective effect or an increased susceptibility to sudden cardiac arrest.”