LONDON — Researchers say they have identified genes that are responsible for a fatal heart condition that can only be cured by heart and lung transplants.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension, PAH, kills half of those with the condition within five years, but little was known about its cause, according to the BBC.
Scientists say they have now discovered five genes that cause the illness. The results were published in the Journal Nature Communications.
PAH causes the arteries carrying blood from the heart to the lungs to harden and thicken, eventually leading to heart failure.
Researchers analyzed the genomes of more than 1,000 PAH patients and found that mutations in five genes were responsible for the disease.
In people suffering from PAH, these five genes fail to produce the proteins that are needed for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues, according to the scientists.
Now that the genes have been identified, the next step will be to develop new ways to treat the condition.
