Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene variant and its levels: risk factors for myocardial infarction in a South Indian population.

INTRODUCTION: Recently, there has been increasing evidence that genetic variation in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays an important role in myocardial infarction. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim of investigating the association of the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I /D) polymorphism and its levels in myocardial infarction patients and their first-degree relatives (FDRs). METHODS: 206 patients with myocardial infarction, 168 FDRs and 210 control subjects were enrolled in the study. ACE I /D polymorphism was determined using the polymerase chain reaction method. Serum ACE levels were measured using the photometric method. RESULTS: The DD genotype and ACE activity were significantly higher in patients (p-value is 0.00006 and 0.0001, respectively) and FDRs (p-value is 0.003 and 0.04, respectively) compared with the controls. CONCLUSION: ACE DD genotype and ACE levels are important risk factors for myocardial infarction. This study indicates that the higher frequency of the DD genotype and ACE levels observed in FDRs may increase susceptibility to developing myocardial infarction.