OVERVIEW

Genetic factors play an important, increasingly recognized role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. The objective of our research program is to identify mutations in genes that cause or confer susceptibility to mechanical dysfunction and electrical instability in the heart. Our molecular genetic studies focus on two heritable disorders in humans: idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy - the most common disease in patients undergoing cardiac transplantation - and atrial fibrillation - the most common sustained arrhythmia, reaching epidemic proportions in the elderly.

Experimental strategies include genetic linkage analysis to map the genomic location of novel disease genes in familial cases and hypothesis-based mutational analyses of candidate genes. These investigations utilize technologically advanced, automated systems for high throughput DNA analysis and capitalize on genomic information derived from the Human Genome Project. The long-term objective of our research is to gain new insights into molecular mechanisms for congestive heart failure and arrhythmias and apply this knowledge to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of heart disease.