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Reduced cardiac vagal control reflected in low heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with greater risks for cardiac morbidity and mortality. In two-stage meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for three HRV traits in up to 53,174 individuals of European ancestry, we detect 17 genome-wide significant SNPs in eight loci. HRV SNPs tag non-synonymous SNPs (in NDUFA11 and KIAA1755), expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) (influencing GNG11, RGS6 and NEO1), or are located in genes preferentially expressed in the sinoatrial node (GNG11, RGS6 and HCN4). Genetic risk scores account for 0.9 to 2.6% of the HRV variance. Significant genetic correlation is found for HRV with heart rate (-0.74<rg<-0.55) and blood pressure (-0.35<rg<-0.20). These findings provide clinically relevant biological insight into heritable variation in vagal heart rhythm regulation, with a key role for genetic variants (GNG11, RGS6) that influence G-protein heterotrimer action in GIRK-channel induced pacemaker membrane hyperpolarization.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/ncomms15805

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nat Commun

Publication Date

14/06/2017

Volume

8

Keywords

Blood Pressure, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Heart Diseases, Heart Rate, Humans, Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels, Muscle Proteins, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Potassium Channels, Quantitative Trait Loci, RGS Proteins, Risk Factors