A Prospective Evaluation of an Angiotensin-Converting–Enzyme Gene Polymorphism and the Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease

Ischemic heart disease is a multifactorial disease, influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Although the recognition of a number of environmental risk factors has led to important advances in the prevention and treatment of the disease, our knowledge of its heritability, except in the case of uncommon monogenetic disorders, 1 is limited to the predictive importance of a positive family history 2 , 3 and to observations of familial aggregation. 4 , 5 Thus, a recently reported association between a polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting–enzyme ( ACE ) gene and the occurrence of myocardial infarction generated great interest. 6 The ACE gene (encoding kininase II, EC 3.4.15.1) . . .