Bengaluru : This World Heart Day, MedGenome, India’s leading genomics-driven diagnostics and research services company announced findings from a customer survey examining awareness and attitudes towards heart health, and a research study exploring polygenic risk for understanding inherited risk of elevated cholesterol. Aligning with this year’s theme “Don’t Miss a Beat” that calls attention to signs of heart disease that can go unnoticed, the initiative highlights the importance of a comprehensive view of cardiovascular risk bringing out the factor that often receives less attention: genetic susceptibility.
Survey Uncovers How Indians Approach Heart Health
The pan India survey of more than 800 individuals across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad, found that 66% of the respondents believe keeping their blood parameters in check, maintaining an active lifestyle and following a healthy diet are enough to protect against heart disease. However, 64% check their blood parameters only occasionally or when they have a health concern. At the same time, among those with a family history of cardiovascular conditions, nearly 64% had never had a conversation around their genetic risk.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report says that non-communicable diseases cause over 60% of deaths in India, with heart disease being the leading cause, responsible for nearly a quarter of all deaths. Previous Indian studies have reported a 12–16% incidence of coronary artery disease among people under 40. Yet, the findings from our survey point to a potential gap in proactive heart health among younger Indians with more than 75% of respondents being under 40, and 67% of them saying they do not regularly monitor some of the most known heart-health parameters. This raises an important question: Is India’s younger population taking a proactive and holistic approach to heart health, or is heart health still being treated as a concern for later in life?”
These findings also point to a significant gap between awareness of traditional heart-health parameters and understanding of genetic risk, highlighting the need to broaden the conversation around prevention and early intervention in heart disease by encouraging a more comprehensive approach to heart health that goes beyond lifestyle factors and routine health checks to also consider individual and inherited risk.
Scientific Study Expands the Lens on Heart Health
With continued focus on early detection and preventive testing, MedGenome in a recent scientific study on familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), collaborated with researchers from leading institutes to evaluate five polygenic risk score (PRS) models for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) which is caused by familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), an inherited condition caused by variants in the LDLR, APOB and PCSK9 genes.
Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Asia (JACC: Asia), the study found that integrating monogenic testing (which looks for changes in individual genes) with polygenic risk score (PRS) testing (which assesses the combined effect of multiple genetic variants) increased the diagnostic yield from just 12% to more than 50%. While monogenic testing alone could identify a relevant inherited risk in only a small proportion of individuals, combining it with PRS helped identify inherited risk for elevated LDL cholesterol in a much larger proportion of those studied. Together, these approaches offer a more comprehensive understanding of an individual’s genetic predisposition to elevated LDL cholesterol.
Dr. Ramesh Menon, Director, Personal Genomics and Genomic Medicine, MedGenome Labs Ltd., said: “Heart health cannot always be understood through a single number or risk factor. Cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and lifestyle remain important, but family history and inherited susceptibility can provide deeper insights into a person’s heart health. The validation of a South Asian-specific polygenic risk score adds to the evidence that genetic information can complement conventional assessment and help us better understand why some individuals have elevated LDL cholesterol despite the absence of an identifiable rare genetic variant.”
The findings come against a backdrop of significant lipid-health challenges in India. The 2026 ICMR-INDIAB national study, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, found that dyslipidemia affects nearly 9 in 10 Indian adults. Having said that, genetic factors, including polygenic risk scores (PRS), can serve as additional risk modifiers that complement conventional cardiovascular risk assessment. The Lipid Association of India has also recognized genetic predisposition and PRS within the broader framework of cardiovascular risk modifiers, supporting a more comprehensive approach to understanding an individual’s inherited and overall cardiovascular risk.
Bringing Clinical and Genetic Insights Together for Holistic Heart Health
Continuing the conversation around holistic heart health, MedGenome also shared an awareness video highlighting the importance of a comprehensive approach to cardiovascular well-being, bringing together routine clinical parameters and genetic insights for a deeper understanding of heart health.
At MedGenome, we believe that early and accurate detection can significantly improve healthcare outcomes. Understanding genetic predisposition to chronic lifestyle diseases facilitates early action. The future of heart-health assessment lies in complementing the numbers we have been monitoring along with genomic insights adding a personalized perspective to get a holistic view of heart health.
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