The Framingham Study is one of the first studies to take an independent, unbiased look at sibling risk. Unlike other studies of family history, which relied on often-unreliable participant recall, this study evaluated independent data from families within the 57-year-long observational study. Participants in this evaluation were from the study's Offspring group, the adult children of the original participants who first enrolled in the 1940s and 1950s.

"Our findings suggests that taking an accurate family history should be a crucial part of every physician's method of assessing heart disease risk, and should go beyond a simple `yes' or `no' question about the presence of disease in the family," said Dr. Murabito.


Patients should make the effort to collect medical history information from their siblings and parents and make sure to inform their siblings if they have a cardiovascular disease event such as a heart attack or stroke, she added.

"We believe that the reasons behind the strong association of risk between siblings are environmental as well as genetic. In addition to sharing the same genetic makeup, siblings may share similar dietary habits and physical activity patterns in their early years while living in the same household. These habits may continue on into adulthood when genetic factors begin to manifest," Christopher O'Donnell, MD, MPH, associate director of NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study and the study senior author.

"While you can't control your family history, there are many things you can do to control your risk for heart disease, including keeping your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar under control, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking, and getting regular physical activity," said Dr. O'Donnell.

In May of 2004, the Framingham Heart Study research team demonstrated that having a parent with a cardiovascular disease history doubles personal risk of the disease.

To schedule an interview, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at 301-496-4236.

For more information about heart disease risk factors and the Framingham Heart Study, visit the NHLBI Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

Information about taking a personal family history can be found at the U.S. Surgeon General's website "My Family Health Portrait" (https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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