• Genetics allows the study of risk related to hereditary cardiovascular disease, with special relevance in cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias and vascular involvement syndromes that may involve risk of sudden death.
• The myCardio service designed by Veritas Intercontinental, a company focused on the study of genetic predisposition, includes all genes recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA), analyzing 100 genes based on their relationship with different hereditary heart diseases.
• Genetic diagnosis allows the patient to be referred to a specialist of the cardiological pathology detected, allowing appropriate management of the patient and genetic counseling for family members.

We have recently witnessed, once again, a professional athlete suffering a cardiovascular attack during a match. This type of incidence and the possible fatal consequences result from an individual’s genetic makeup. Genetic science now makes it possible to know whether a person has an elevated risk to suffer this type of cardiovascular accident and to avoid one of the main causes of death in the world, with more than 17 million deaths each year.

The role of genetics as a diagnostic element has been fundamental for several years, as Dr. Izquierdo, Chief Medical Officer of Veritas Intercontinental, says:”Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is mainly due to coronary pathologies, especially in patients over 40 years old, but in younger patients, such as many high-performance professional athletes, the contribution of genetic factors to the pathogenesis of SCD is a key factor, since we usually find a clear pattern of family inheritance at its origin, such as cardiomyopathies or channelopathies”.

To help in the detection and prevention of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD), Veritas Intercontinental offers the myCardio genetic service, an innovative Exome sequencing and interpretation service, focused on genes related to hereditary heart diseases.

The analysis  includes all genes recommended by the American Heart Associatioin (AHA) analyzing 100 genes based on their relationship with different hereditary heart diseases. The service includes genetic counseling for the prescribing specialist, which is essential for the correct interpretation of the results and clinical management of the patient.

“myCardio,” explains Dr. Luis Izquierdo, “makes it possible to tackle the main types of cardiac disorders of hereditary origin and offers enormously valuable information to avoid the disease or to treat it much more efficiently. Until now, genetic tests related to hereditary heart disease have been very focused on certain pathologies, when it has been shown that there are many interactions between different heart conditions. myCardio allows a comprehensive approach to heart disease, with a new perspective that has been shown to be much more effective”.

Advantages

Whole exome sequencing (WES) is the most appropriate tool to address the genetic heterogeneity present in inherited cardiovascular disease. Recent studies show a very significant improvement in diagnostic performance using exome sequencing compared to panels, since a high number of cases in which several mutations are recorded simultaneously are observed. The advantages of the exome are more prominent in those cases in which there is no high clinical suspicion, as well as those in which the patient has been recovered after an episode of sudden death.

The service covers the study of hereditary predisposition to Primary Cardiomyopathies, Metabolic Cardiomyopathies, Channelopathies and Arrhythmias, Syndromes with Vascular Affection, Rasopathies, other syndromes linked to cardiac pathology and other risk factors (Ischemic Heart Disease) such as Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

About Veritas Intercontinental

Veritas Intercontinental was founded in 2018 by Dr. Luis Izquierdo, Dr. Vincenzo Cirigliano and Javier de Echevarría, who have accumulated extensive experience in the field of genetics, diagnostics, and biotechnology, initially linked to Veritas Genetics, a company founded in 2014 by Prof. George Church, one of the pioneers in preventive medicine. Veritas was born with the aim of making genome sequencing and its clinical interpretation available to all citizens as a tool to prevent diseases and improve health and quality of life.

Since its inception, Veritas Intercontinental has led the activity and development of the Veritas market in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Japan; with the aim of making genomics an everyday tool used for proactive healthcare management.

Based on its leadership in the application of preventive genomic medicine (myGenome), Veritas Intercontinental has expanded its offer to other areas such as perinatal medicine (myPrenatal -NIPT- and myNewborn -neonatal screening-), oncology (myCancerRisk), or the mentioned cardiovascular pathologies (myCardio), thus becoming the benchmark in advanced genomics services.