42% of early heart attacks could be prevented if the relatives and partners of those who have a heart attack in middle age were routinely screened for cardiac risk factors, then counselled and treated. ‘We know that having a family history of heart disease increases the risk of heart attack times two’ said Professor Jill Pell of Glasgow University. ‘Up to now, the only way of stopping heart attacks in the general population was to screen everyone, which is not really practical. We have now found a potential way of targeting screening at a group which will benefit most.’ Professor Pell published these observations in the British Medical Journal on 7th September 2007 following a review of published research undertaken by the Glasgow research team lead.

Blood relatives may inherit a tendency to develop early heart disease, but all who live with ‘heart attack patients’, including partners, can share a life-style of smoking, over-eating and insufficient exercise. If all these people were routinely counselled, monitored and given treatment for high 'bad' cholesterol and high blood pressure Professor Pell calculates that 42% of early heart attacks could be prevented, a total of some 6,500 a year in England and Wales.

Attempts to identify high risks families through school, work or on-line questionnaires have failed. Perhaps this alternative approach, identifying relatives of heart attach victims admitted to Accident and Emergency or outpatient clinics might just work.  The British Heart Foundation has called on the UK Government to implement the findings.