40 per cent of heart attacks could be prevented by routine family screening, study finds

Four out of ten premature heart attacks could be prevented if the partners and relatives of people with heart disease were routinely screened, according to the recently published British Medical Journal study.

And a UAE-based German heart specialist has urged high-risk UAE residents to take the test at an early stage if within the newly discovered higher risk criteria.

Being related to or living with someone with heart disease was found by the study to be a significant risk factor for a heart attack, with siblings twice as likely to suffer, but husbands, wives and partners are also in danger.

Where blood relatives can have the same genetic triggers for heart disease, those who share a home often share the same lifestyles, such as smoking, over-eating and under-exercising - all traits that can contribute to heart problems.

As a result of the study, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is already planning its national screening programme and Dr Kallmayer of Dubai Healthcare City's German Heart Centre explains it is even more important in this region.

"Premature Heart Attacks are the real disaster and the majority of UAE heart attacks are premature, with the average heart attack at 50 years of age while the worldwide average is 65.

"With the risk of premature heart attacks so high in the UAE, due to an unhealthy combination of lifestyle and work life, the screening is even more important here.

"The simple non-invasive screening, which takes less than hour in a well organised out-patient centre such as the German Heart Centre, involves a physical, ultrasounds of the heart and arteries, stress testing and some blood tests. It is completely harmless and in no way unpleasant and the results are immediately available, avoiding time-consuming hospital-based checks.

According to the study, over 7,000 Brits with a family history that should have indicated they were at risk, had heart attacks in 2004. If they had been identified, counseled, monitored and given any necessary drug treatment, the figure could have been reduced by up to 88 per cent.

As a result, the study suggests that when middle aged people with heart problems arrive at Accident and Emergency or an outpatient clinic, they should be offered family counseling and screening. As a result they would be given a risk profile and offered treatment to adapt their lifestyles to reduce their risk of future problems.