Routine Blood Draws Could Detect Epigenetic Biomarkers for Predicting Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, yet predicting individual risk remains a persistent challenge. Traditional risk factors, while useful, do not fully capture biological changes that contribute to disease onset and progression. Now, a new study has identified epigenetic biomarkers that could provide predictive insights into cardiovascular events and mortality, offering a potential breakthrough for earlier and more accurate risk assessment.

The study, conducted by researchers at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL, USA), along with collaborators across multiple cohorts, builds on previous work linking cardiovascular health to epigenetic changes in blood. The team examined DNA methylation patterns, chemical tags that regulate gene activity, across more than 440,000 sites. Using advanced bioinformatics, they investigated how lifestyle and cardiovascular health scores influence methylation, aiming to identify biomarkers that reflect long-term cardiovascular health.

Image: Over 100 new epigenetic biomarkers may help predict cardiovascular disease risk (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

The epigenome-wide association study analyzed over 10,000 participants across five large cohorts, including CARDIA, Framingham Heart Study, and MESA. Results revealed 609 methylation markers significantly associated with cardiovascular health, of which 141 were potentially causal for conditions such as stroke, heart failure, and gestational hypertension.

These epigenetic markers proved highly predictive of future cardiovascular events and mortality, independent of traditional risk factors, and consistent across diverse populations. Individuals with favorable methylation profiles had up to 32% lower cardiovascular disease risk, 40% lower cardiovascular mortality, and 45% lower all-cause mortality. These findings, published in Circulation, highlight how simple blood draws could provide a more comprehensive view of patient health and guide preventive care.

“These findings deepen our understanding of how health behaviors get under the skin. Our lifestyles can indeed leave lasting marks on our biology, which is detectable through changes like DNA methylation,” said Yinan Zheng, assistant professor and co-author of the study. “Our next steps are centered on translating these findings into clinical practice. We also hope to collaborate with biotech and diagnostics companies to develop affordable, minimally invasive blood test kits that could be used in primary care or preventive cardiology clinics.”