Polimorfismos genéticos en enfermedades cardiovasculares: la experiencia en el Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez / Genetic polymorphisms in cardiovascular diseases: the experience in the National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chávez

ABSTRACT

The knowledge of the complete human genome sequence and the application of new molecular techniques is providing important information about the genetic markers associated with the development of several diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are of special interest for these studies since they are an important worldwide health problem. These diseases have a multifactorial etiology, therefore, many genetic and environmental factors participate to generate them. The identification of susceptibility genes has the potential to aid in the development of new treatments and to enhance the prediction of disease risk. Thus, the strategy has been to analyze polymorphisms presents in candidate genes coding for important proteins in the homeostatic system involved in maintaining cardiovascular health. Several studies have been reported in Caucasian, Asian and African populations, however, few data are available in the mexican population. The revision discusses recently published data of polymorphic markers associated with cardiovascular disease in the Mexican population.