Researchers have linked a rare genetic mutation found mostly in Black Americans and other people of African descent to an earlier onset of heart failure and a higher risk of hospitalization. The findings suggest that earlier screening for the mutation could lead to faster treatment and improved outcomes for heart failure in this vulnerable group, the researchers said.
The genetic variant studied in the current research had long ago been linked to a higher risk of heart failure in people of African ancestry. Known as TTR V142I, the gene can cause a condition called transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, which is potentially fatal because protein builds up inside the heart. However, little was known about the impact of the mutation on important clinical-related factors such as heart structure, heart function, hospitalization rates, and blood biomarkers.
To learn more, the researchers studied TTR V142I in a group of middle-aged participants from the 20-year-long Jackson Heart Study, the largest and longest investigation of cardiovascular disease in Black Americans. Of the 2,960 participants selected from the study, about 119 (4%) had the genetic mutation, but none had heart failure at the start. Between 2005 and 2016, the researchers observed 258 heart failure events.
They found that patients who carried the genetic mutation were at significantly higher risk of developing heart failure, compared to those without the mutation. These patients also developed heart failure nearly four years earlier and had a higher number of heart failure hospitalizations. Researchers said they found no significant difference in death rates between the two groups during this study period.
“Identification of genetic susceptibility to amyloid cardiomyopathy is an important advance related to heart failure, especially given its disproportionate effect on older and multiethnic populations,” said Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, M.D., a medical officer in the Heart Failure and Arrhythmia Branch in NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences.
The results of the study, which was largely supported by the NHLBI, appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.