Men are Genetically Prone to Heart Diseases and Strokes

A new study shows that men are genetically more prone to heart diseases and strokes.

Significant genetic variations called l-haplogroup make them 55 per cent more likely to develop coronary disease

Researchers said it was too early to tell whether the gene has a greater effect on the health of the heart than factors such as smoking and high blood pressure.

Peter Weissberg said that if the genetic variation was linked to a risk factor such as hypertension then the discovery might be useful because men with high blood pressure could be treated more aggressively.

The l-haplogroup variant is said to have arrived to Europe from the Middle East some 25,000 years ago.

It is more common in northern Europe - raising speculation that it might explain why heart disease rates are higher in the UK than in Mediterranean countries.

"We are a long way off being able to judge the potency of this genetic effect. This will not be a test you can get in the near future," the Daily Mail quoted Weissberg as saying.

Source: ANI