Can heart problems be hereditary ?

[Westie2012]

I had a dream a few nights ago that one of our daughters had to go to hospital with cardiac symptoms , a few hours later I ended up in hospital too with the sane , in the dream I had a pacemaker as I do in real life and my daughter was asked if there was a family history of heart problems . When I was diagnosed with my heart problems wvuch are heart pauses which is the main problem, plus tachybrady episodes , i was asked and have been asked many times since if there is any family history of heart problems , there aren’t any that I’m aware of in both my parents or grandparents, it started with me and I’m hoping it ends there too as we have four lovely girls and I’d feel awful if they were diagnosed with heart problems too . The dream was very real and the following day it got me thinking about if I could pass on my condition to my children , I’m just curious if any members on here have either had heart problems passed on from their family or passed it on to children ?

[Ennasti]

Yes, I have a genetic heart condition and my brother has it also. I have two children and there is a 50% chance they have it. It is thought whatever it is caused the early death of my mother, 2 uncles and grandmother. I have gone back as far as gt grandparents on one line and it shows both gt grandparents died of cardiac issues, as did 4 of their 6 children (my grandmother being one). They obviously can't be tested because they're nolonger alive, and genetic testing has shown that whatever I have is not one where genetic markers are known yet.

For your issue - if there is no previous familial history of heart issues then it is unlikely yours is genetic. You'd really need to discuss it with your doctor or a genetist though as its a complicated area.

[Alixia in reply to Ennasti]

Hello, what is your diagnosis? I also have a genetic heart condition called LMNA cardiomyopathy.

[Ennasti in reply to Alixia]

I had to look up what LMNA cardiomyopthy is. Very interesting! If its picked up by genetic screening then I definitely don't have it. My genetic testing was inconclusive - which is frustrating. My cardiac team have settled on progressive cardiac conduction disorder - which is a pretty broad term really. Basically they think it is a genetic condition which affects the sodium chanels of the heart. Structurally, my heart is great so far. My brother is in more advanced stages though and has a pacemaker to help with his ventricular tachycardia and he's had a valve replaced. He currently has an EF of only 24%.

[fishonabike in reply to Ennasti]

many genetic tests are specific - that means they are targetted and only pick up one condition - for example a genetic test for heart condition A won't pick up heart condition B

there are a number of heart condition which have a genetic component and for which there are tests - there may be more for which the genes have not yet been identified, so there is no test for these yet

if your doctors are asking about family history maybe you should ask them about whether or not you should talk to your daughters about being checked

[Ennasti in reply to fishonabike]

Thanks. My cardiac geneticist was pretty thorough. It was a team who work in genetic research who did the testing and the team included my electrophysiologist. They tested me for 126 known conduction disorders which my symptoms could match. Only one gene was picked up but it is one with specific physical characteristics which I do not have so it was considered of ‘unknown significance’.

There is no use testing my daughters as they currently show no symptoms and we don’t have an identified gene. I trust my EP and his team. The most useful person to test would be my brother ans he is the only living relative with symptoms, and for reason I can’t fathom, he refuses to do it. My daughters, both in their 30s, have been advised to have a cardiac check-up every 5 years.

[fishonabike in reply to Ennasti]

thank you for clarifying that - i just realised that i put my comment in the wrong place, it was meant for the original poster Westie2012 - my apologies to both of you

[Buddy00]

I have a heart condition called non compaction , its where the heart doesn’t form properly while in the womb. Both my children where screened and fortunately they don’t have this condition.

[Loobycare]

Sadly yes. My family at present are awaiting genetic testing for Inherited Cardiomyopathy.

[andrew290171]

GP told me my angina was definitely hereditary. He said 50 % of heart disease is due to this. My mum had heart attack and triple bypass at 50, my dad same at 60 and nan had 3 heart attacks in her 50's. I have been lucky and at 53 have just had angina and stent

[fishonabike in reply to andrew290171]

it sounds as though your GP has oversimplified the issue: angina is a symptom which can be caused by a variety of heart conditions - it is a pain caused by inadequate blood supply to the heart muscle and not a condition is itself

it could be involved in as much as 50% of heart conditions, but it is not the cause - the underlying condition is the cause

[56dick19]

hi I have dilated cardiomyopathy and been told that it’s hereditary

[Drawforaliving]

Hi Westie2012, I have an ICD and pacemaker fitter for a genetic condition called CPVT. In the last 3 generations we have had young fit family members die usually during sport, with others suffering black out/collapse that is now assumed in modern times to have been cardiac arrests. Unfortunately this condition is inherited with a 50:50 chance of passing it on. It missed my one child, thank the lord! In relation to your family history comment the genetic doctors at Birmingham told me that although it is inherited the first instance is sometimes a genetic wild card that comes from no where. Our great nan had one of the first pacemakers but was of a family of 9. The other 8 did not suffer cardiac problems that CPVT as they tend to be big events and not easy to miss and many lived till their 90s. Our doctor believe our genetic abnormality started specifically with our great nan.

[Deejay62]

Hi I have dilated cardiomyopathy and mine is genetic. I have family on both sides who had it. My children are grown and aren’t interested in testing. My cardiologist at the time gave them the option to. I think my youngest daughter went and had ecg and echo done at the hospital years ago and she was told she was ok. I think she new the person as she works for the NHS.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

By definition Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is genetically linked and this apparently affects 1 in 250 including, more than likely, me.

[Thanksnhs]

Hi I have a faulty gene DSR , I was at first diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and sent for gene testing but nothing showed up. My heart by this point was so bad I was put on the transplant list, It was after surgery when they took my heart to the path lab it was found that I had arrythmogenic cardiomyopathy and the gene, both my sons and my brother got tested and unfortunately my younger son has it, now that they know they can keep an eye on him, although I am absolutely gutted about it. I assume it has come from dad's side as he died at 62 in 1988 no testing was done then and apparently he was 10 when his mother died. My mum is 95 in July and is fine I definitely got the Bishop genes. Char

[Rosie1066]

yes, I’m the fifth generation on my fathers family to have heart problems. My father died of Coronary Thrombosis as did his father. Great grandfather died of Heart Failure and the other two generations back both died of unspecified heart problems. I was born with Coronary Heart Disease as was my sister.

[Yumz199725]

Yes my grandad had it and sadly passed away from heart problems. My cousins son has it and my two brothers have a hole in the heart and my dad's mum passed from heart failure 💔. Maybe get your daughters checked just for a bit of reassurance xx

[Yumz199725]

Yes my grandad had it and sadly passed away from heart problems. My cousins son has it and my two brothers have a hole in the heart and my dad's mum passed from heart failure 💔. Maybe get your daughters checked just for a bit of reassurance xx

[Wanderinglady]

Sadly yes, many of the males and females in my fathers family died at 60 from heart conditions. I was over the moon to get beyond that age with no diagnosed heart problems then wham, at the age of 68 I became very unwell and received a diagnosis of both Afib and microvascular disorder. I’m 70 now and awaiting an ablation.

[LaceyLady]

My father’s family seem to have strokes, so I’m feeling my heart issues are inherited. But I found out that I have Haemochromatosis a genetic liver disorder where you can overload Iron, called ‘The Celtic Curse’. Heart, liver and diabetes can be part of this condition. I developed heart arrhythmia at about 40’s, over the years it got worse, at first was diagnosed with Supra ventricular tachycardia, Professor feels this was a misdiagnosis and was Peripheral Atrial Fibrillation all along. My paternal GM had strokes, my dad passed at 50 massive strokes, his sister at 67 strokes🤷🏼‍♀️ I feel the Haemochromatosis is significant and also I developed T2 Diabetes suddenly, which can be part of the Haemochromatosis.

So yes, I think my issues are inherited

[MyHF]

unfortunately yes. I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure in October 2022. Because so many of my family have had heart problems I was offered genetic testing where it was found I carry a faulty TTN gene. Here’s where things get crazy for me though, the hospital I’m under have been storing DNA since the 1980’s. So my dad who passed away in 2004 and my brother passed away in 2008 both have just had genetic testing in the past few weeks. My dad carried the same faulty TTN gene as I do, but my brother who died aged 27 of heart disease did not carry the same gene!!! So the genetics team are currently doing a full genetic test on him to see if there is something else going on w him!!

[Thumper76]

Hi Westie2012. When I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy the consultant said it was probably from a virus. I have no family history of heart problems as far as I know. Hoping I haven’t passed anything onto my children too. X