The Role of Genetic Testing in Cardiovascular Disease

Genetic Testing in Cardiovascular Disease

Guest: Iftikhar J. Kullo, M.D. (@iftikhar_kullo)

Host: Stephen L. Kopecky, M.D. (@DrSteveKopecky)

The Framingham risk score and other calculator models have been used to assess patients' risk of cardiovascular disease for more than 60 years. The models help to identify patients as having low risk, intermediate risk or high risk — but unless patients are assessed on the day they have a cardiovascular event, they may not be flagged as having high risk. Genetic risk assessment provides an exciting new avenue to help improve the risk prediction equations.

Joining us today to discuss genetic testing in cardiovascular disease is Iftikhar J. Kullo, M.D., a preventive cardiologist and professor of medicine here at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Specific topics discussed:

Why genetic testing is needed for coronary risk stratification

How to assess genetic risk of cardiovascular disease

Genetic and genomewide polygenic risk scores

Typical patients and a focus on patients at intermediate risk

Genetic testing for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia

Connect with Mayo Clinic's Cardiovascular Continuing Medical Education online at https://cveducation.mayo.edu or on Twitter @MayoClinicCV.

No CME credit offered for this episode.

Podcast transcript can be found here.