Siblings Often Share Heart Risks

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For now, Vaidya advised that siblings at risk for heart attack modify their risk factors by not smoking, keeping their weight down, exercising and watching their cholesterol.

One expert agreed that understanding your risk is key to minimizing it.

"Cardiovascular disease is preventable, and thus identifying individuals at risk is important and actionable," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Individuals with a family history for premature cardiovascular disease should be carefully evaluated and take action to modify their cardiovascular risk including achieving healthy blood pressure, lipid levels and weight, as well as not smoking and exercising," Fonarow added.

Another expert applauded the study.

"This is a very important paper that shows that a family history of premature coronary heart disease has important prognostic value," said Dr. Roger S. Blumenthal, a professor of medicine and director of The Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease. He was not involved in the study.

Unfortunately, this variable is not included in the standard Framingham Risk Equation, which doctors often use to determine which adults should get aspirin or cholesterol-lowering therapy, Blumenthal said.

"Health care providers need to take family history into account when they are trying to decide which patient should go on prophylactic aspirin or statin therapy," he said.

"Clearly more events occur among family members of persons with premature heart disease than would be predicted by the Framingham risk score," Blumenthal noted. "The excess risk in these families cannot be attributed to traditional risk factors."

More information

For more on heart attacks, visit the American Heart Association.