Does Family History of Heart Disease Affect My Child?

Reviewed by Sara Cherny, MS, CGC; and Sarah Jurgensmeyer, MS, CGC 

If heart disease runs in your family, it’s natural to wonder what that means for your child. Even if your child seems perfectly healthy, a relative with an enlarged heart or high cholesterol can raise questions.  

The reassuring news is that a family history of heart disease does not automatically mean your child will develop it. In most cases, understanding your family history helps your clinical care team keep an eye on potential risks and focus on early prevention.  

What does “family history” actually mean? 

When reviewing your family history with your family members or your medical team, start with close biological relatives such as parents, siblings, grandparents and sometimes aunts or uncles. 

You will want to take note when: 

• A close relative developed heart disease at a young age (before 50 years of age) 
• Multiple family members share similar heart conditions
• There’s a known genetic heart disorder
• A relative passed away suddenly 

Like many other medical tools, family history is best understood as an indication of risk, not a prediction. 

Heart Conditions That Can Run in Families 

Some heart-related conditions have genetic or inherited components. These can include more common issues, like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, as well as rarer heart muscle or rhythm disorders. 
At a high level, inherited heart concerns may involve: 

• Inherited high cholesterol (which can start in childhood)
• Heart muscle diseases (cardiomyopathies)
• Heart rhythm conditions that affect how the heart beats
• Certain congenital heart differences present at birth 

What to Do With Your Family History Information 

Talk with your child’s pediatrician about your family history. They will help decide if there’s reason for your child to be evaluated with a cardiologist and/or cardiovascular genetic counselor based on this information. When you meet with a cardiologist at Lurie Children’s they might recommend cardiac testing for your child (e.g., echocardiogram, EKG) and possibly a visit with a genetic counselor. 

A genetic counselor will collect your family history in a standardized method, creating a pedigree during your visit (example of a pedigree pictured on the right). A pedigree is a tool used in genetic counseling to observe patterns in a family history to identify hereditary disease and who is at risk.

A genetic counselor will assess if genetic testing could be a valuable tool for your family and if so, who would be the best person in the family to get genetic testing.  

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