Where your DNA places you among other people, and the studies behind it.
Not tailored to your result, and not medical advice
Eat for a Better Lipid Profile: LDL cholesterol is a central causal driver of atherosclerosis, and diet moves it. Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, and increasing soluble fiber from oats, beans, lentils and fruit, both lower LDL. Regular activity and not smoking improve the wider lipid picture alongside it. Lancet (Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration)
Never Smoke, or Quit Immediately: Smoking is among the most impactful modifiable risk factors for CAD, roughly doubling to quadrupling the risk of coronary heart disease. It damages the endothelium, promotes inflammation, and accelerates atherosclerosis. Quitting at any age helps: cardiovascular risk falls quickly in the first year or two, the excess coronary risk drops by about half within a few years, and over roughly 15 years risk approaches that of someone who never smoked. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Exercise Regularly: Regular physical activity is consistently associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk and mortality. It improves lipid profiles, lowers blood pressure, enhances insulin sensitivity, and reduces inflammation. Federal guidelines advise at least 150 minutes/week of moderate or 75 minutes/week of vigorous aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening activity on 2 or more days a week. JAMA (Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans)
Keep Blood Pressure in a Healthy Range: Hypertension is a leading contributor to cardiovascular mortality worldwide, and it usually causes no symptoms at all. Reducing dietary sodium, regular aerobic activity, weight management and moderating alcohol are the changes with the strongest evidence behind them. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (SPRINT)
Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet: In the PREDIMED trial, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts reduced major cardiovascular events by roughly 30% compared with a reduced-fat control diet - among the strongest dietary evidence in cardiovascular prevention. Emphasize olive oil, nuts, fish, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and minimize ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and trans fats. New England Journal of Medicine (PREDIMED)
How much of this is genetic?
Genetics explains 50% of why people differ in this trait. The rest is environment, daily habits and chance.
Heritability estimate: Dai et al. 2016, World J Cardiol
Background and further reading
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called ischemic heart disease, is the most common type of heart disease and the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for roughly 9 million deaths a year [1]. It develops when atherosclerotic plaque - a mix of cholesterol, inflammatory cells, and fibrous tissue - builds up in the coronary arteries and restricts blood flow to the heart muscle. Over time this can cause angina (chest pain), myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. CAD usually progresses silently over decades before symptoms appear.
Genetic Basis: Twin and family studies estimate CAD heritability at roughly 40-60%, with large twin registries clustering around 50-60% [2]. The disease is highly polygenic. The first robust signal, found at the 9p21.3 locus near the CDKN2A/CDKN2B genes, remains one of the strongest common-variant associations and acts largely independently of cholesterol, influencing vascular cell proliferation and plaque stability [2]. Successive genome-wide association studies have steadily expanded the map: a 2018 analysis brought the total to 161 loci [3], and a 2022 meta-analysis of over a million participants reported 241 associations, including 30 newly discovered loci [4]. Implicated pathways span LDL cholesterol metabolism (PCSK9, LDLR, APOB), inflammation (IL6R, SH2B3), and vascular smooth-muscle function, and a substantial share of genetic risk appears to act through non-lipid pathways - a reminder that cholesterol is not the whole story [4].
Risk Factors: Modifiable risk factors include dyslipidemia (elevated LDL, low HDL, high triglycerides), hypertension, smoking, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet. Non-modifiable factors include age, male sex, and family history. Chronic inflammation, psychosocial stress, and air pollution are increasingly recognized contributors. Genes and environment interact: in a large study, people at high genetic risk who followed a favorable lifestyle had a 46% lower relative risk of coronary events than those with an unfavorable lifestyle, showing that inherited risk can be substantially offset by behavior [5].
The published research behind your score, and the variants it draws on.
95 published scores from 29 studies
The coronary artery disease score combines 95 polygenic scores drawn from 29 published studies.
Abraham G (2016). Genomic prediction of coronary heart disease. Eur Heart J: 49k
These traits are influenced by some of the same genes and variants as this one
Content updated August 2026.
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