Objective - In this work we assessed a risk score for developing a first
event of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) based on the family history of
the cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods and results - The studied population consisted of 848 randomly
selected middle-aged patients with first event of ACS and 1078
sex-age-region matched controls admitted to the same hospitals for minor
operations and without any clinical suspicion of cardiovascular disease
in their life. A Family History Score (FHS) was developed based on the
presence of coronary heart disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia
and diabetes mellitus, among first-degree relatives of the participants
after adjusting for the family size. The evaluation of FHS was based on
conditional logistic regression analysis, after controlling for
demographic variables as well as for the mutual confounding effects of
other risk factors. Family history of CHD, hypercholesterolaemia and
diabetes was highly associated with the development of the disease. The
introduced FHS was also highly associated with the development of ACS
among participants who had no family history of CHD (odds ratio = 10.9,
p < 0.001), whereas it was not associated with the development of the
disease among participants who had a family history of CHD (odds ratio =
1.41, p = 0.543).
Conclusions - The suggested FHS could be a useful tool in the primary
prevention of ACS, as well as in detecting and understanding
associations between genetic vulnerability and cardiovascular risk
factors