section_path: Risk factors/Genetics
section_name: Genetics
paragraph_text: Genetics
  
  Cardiovascular disease in a person's parents increases their risk by ~3 fold, and genetics is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Genetic cardiovascular disease can occur either asa consequence of single variant (Mendelian) or polygenic influences. There are more than 40 inherited cardiovascular disease that can be traced to a single disease-causing DNA variant, although these conditions are rare. Most common cardiovascular diseases are non-Mendelian and are thought to be due to hundreds or thousands of genetic variants (known as single nucleotide polymorphisms), each associated with a small effect.