escape your family history of heart disease

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By Linda Wasmer Andrews

What if heart disease is part of your family tree? Can you defy your DNA?

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Just how much genes determine one’s cardiovascular health is the critical question facing those with a family history of problems. Just as traits such as curly hair, dimples, or leanness run through families, so does the risk of heart disease.

“Estimates vary, but some scientists believe that roughly half of the overall risk for cardiovascular disease is genetic,” says Daniel Jones, M.D., president of the American Heart Association and dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine.

Of course, this also implies that about half the risk isn’t genetic—and many of those other risk factors are lifestyle choices within your control.