Genetic tests could identify people at risk of heart disease, NHS study finds

Doctors at 12 GP surgeries found that the calculated risk of heart disease changed for about a quarter of participants when DNA was taken into account. Photograph: RayArt Graphics/Alamy

GPs in the north of England have used predictive genetic tests to identify people most at risk of heart disease in the world’s first pilot of the technology.

The NHS study, called Heart, offered genetic tests to nearly 1,000 people aged 45 to 64, in the hope of better predicting their risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years.