title: Heritability of left ventricular structure and function in Caucasian families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the heritability as well as genetic and environmental correlations of left ventricular (LV) structural and functional traits in complex pedigrees of a Caucasian population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We randomly recruited 459 white European subjects from 52 families (50% women; mean age 45 years). LV structure was measured by M-mode and 2D echocardiography and LV function was measured by conventional Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Other measurements included blood pressure, anthropometric, and biochemical measurements. We estimated the heritability of LV traits while adjusting for covariables, including sex, age, body height and weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and heart rate. With full adjustment, heritability of LV mass was 0.23 (P= 0.025). The TDI-derived mitral annular velocities Ea and Aa showed moderate heritability (h(2)= 0.36 and 0.53, respectively), whereas the mitral inflow A peak had weak heritability (h(2) = 0.25) and the E peak was not heritable (h(2) = 0.11). We partitioned the total phenotypic correlation when it reached significance, into a genetic and an environmental component. The genetic correlations were 0.61 between the E and Ea peaks and 0.90 between the A and Aa peaks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated moderate heritability for LV mass as well as the mitral annular Ea and Aa peaks. We also found significant genetic correlations between the E and Ea peaks and between the A and Aa peaks. Our current findings support the ongoing research to map and detect genetic variants that contribute to the variation in LV mass and other LV structural and functional phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: The Studies Coordinating Centre, Division of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Leuven, Campus Sint Rafaël, Kapucijnenvoer 35, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuznetsova
authors.forename: Murielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bochud
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Richart
authors.forename: Lutgarde
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thijs
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cusi
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fagard
authors.forename: Jan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Staessen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012044:Regression Analysis; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers