Genetic mutation linked to increased heart failure risk in black people

An underdiagnosed genetic mutation in people of African descent carries an increased risk for heart failure, according to a new study.

When present in those patients, a genetic variant, TTR V122I, could lead to a higher risk of hereditary transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy ó a potentially fatal disease caused by a protein buildup in the heart. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death among all genders and racial and ethnic groups, but non-Hispanic black people are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The discovery underscores the need to study nonwhite populations and their health concerns, clinicians say.

Heart failure, a condition in which the heart doesnít pump blood well enough to meet the needs of the body, can result from other forms of heart disease, the Mayo Clinic said.