{"id":131861,"date":"2025-09-04T09:14:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T09:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/131861\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T09:14:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T09:14:07","slug":"dna-may-be-to-blame-for-heart-disease-a-uconn-doctor-is-trying-to-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/131861\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA may be to blame for heart disease. A UConn doctor is trying to fix it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t ever underestimate the power of DNA on your beating heart, as it can be the root cause of heart failure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Travis Hinson, a cardiologist at UConn School of Medicine<\/a> is trying to fix that.<\/p>\n

Hinson is spearheading research that uses genetic engineering to change the outcome for patients and their families whose heart disease is genetic.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 5 to 10% of patients whose heart disease isn\u2019t caused by a faulty valve or blockage and for which there is no effective treatment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also for their family members who may carry that genetic mutation in their DNA.<\/p>\n

Hinson starts by creating beating avatars of a patient\u2019s unique heart and experimenting in the lab with genetic therapies that involve cutting out the problem DNA and pasting in normal DNA.<\/p>\n

The gene therapy that Hinson and his team have developed now works in the avatars and in mice.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re hoping within five years to begin the first-in-human clinical trials, he said. Simple genetic testing for a gene misspelling can be done through a blood test, Hinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenetic medicine is the new preventative care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hinson said often symptoms of heart disease are trouble breathing, swelling in legs and fatigue.<\/p>\n

The heart could be pumping not enough or too much.<\/p>\n

There are some one size fits all treatments, \u201cBut they don\u2019t work well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like we\u2019re in the dark ages,\u201d he said. \u201cWe treat people with the same medications.\u201d<\/p>\n

But genetics \u201cplays a huge role\u201d in heart disease, Hinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the genetic code is wrong it can make the heart weak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Having that information can dramatically impact patients and their family members who may have a mutation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like genetics is prevention,\u201d Hinson said. \u201cThrough DNA we can develop treatment for heart failure if there are no valves leaking or blockages.\u201d<\/p>\n

UConn School of Medicine dean Dr. Bruce T. Liang, who is also a cardiovascular physician, said Hinson\u2019s innovative NIH-funded cardiovascular genetics research and personalized Cardiovascular Genetics Program care are a shining example of what they do best at UConn School of Medicine and UConn Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe discoveries and translational research happening at UConn School of Medicine are truly amazing,\u201d Liang said. \u201cThanks to Dr. Hinson\u2019s outstanding skill and tireless passion, he is truly enhancing the lives of more and more patients struggling with debilitating heart failure and cardiomyopathies while keeping our Calhoun Cardiology Center on the forefront of cardiovascular research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Adams, professor and interim scientific director at UConn\u2019s Jackson Laboratory<\/a> or JAX, said Hinson\u2019s work is \u201crevolutionizing how we view heart disease by identifying the fundamental genetic mutations and developing approaches to change them before they cause harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Hinson\u2019s research in precision medicine is \u201cpaving the way for a future where treatments are tailored to correct the underlying genetic defects, resulting in enduring, transforming care for heart failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heart failure affects over 7 million Americans and remains a leading cause of death among adults, university officials said. Heart disease also is the leading cause of death in Connecticut, according to the U.S, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, heart failure treatment in the U.S. often follows a one-size-fits-all approach, which can be incomplete or ineffective,\u201d Hinson said. \u201cThis therapy addresses a critical unmet need in cardiovascular medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hinson, UConn School of Medicine\u2019s Pat and Jim Calhoun Endowed Professor, leads the Cardiovascular Genetics Program at UConn Health\u2019s Calhoun Cardiology Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hinson said, \u201cIt\u2019s my life\u2019s dream\u201d to see a successful treatment that he had a hand in developing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t ever underestimate the power of DNA on your beating heart, as it can be the root cause…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[14297,23715,2000,15861,1155,3281,83313,83317,43553,83318,200,15862,97,252,1492,83314,83316,83315,983,2620,1728,79,2830,15857],"class_list":["post-131861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-cardiology","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-connecticut","tag-ct-news","tag-dna","tag-doctors","tag-dr-bruce-liang","tag-family-history","tag-farmington","tag-genetic-defects","tag-genetics","tag-hartford-courant","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-heart-disease","tag-hinson","tag-jackson-labs","tag-jax","tag-local-news","tag-precision-medicine","tag-research","tag-science","tag-u-s","tag-uconn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}