{"id":12844,"date":"2025-09-25T14:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T14:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12844"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T11:09:14","slug":"genetic-testing-is-transforming-cardiovascular-risk-assessment-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/cardiology-2\/genetic-testing-is-transforming-cardiovascular-risk-assessment-in-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetic testing is transforming cardiovascular risk assessment in Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"636\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12845\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25143550\/vicky-1758810944-Anders-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25143550\/vicky-1758810944-Anders-Headshot.jpg 636w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25143550\/vicky-1758810944-Anders-Headshot-125x125.jpg 125w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25143550\/vicky-1758810944-Anders-Headshot-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Anders Bojesen<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Laboratory Clinical Director, Genseq<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Insights from genetic testing can shape patient care, treatment selection and preventative healthcare strategies. Consultant Geneticist, Anders Bojesen, speaks to the importance of genetic testing in cardiovascular care.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/genseqgroup.com\/services\/clinical\/gene-panels\/cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Genetic testing<\/a> has emerged as a powerful tool for the assessment of individual risk for inherited cardiovascular disease, guiding preventative measures and potentially saving lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-genetics-guiding-prevention\"><strong>Genetics guiding prevention<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur understanding of how genes impact disease has grown exponentially over the last decade,\u201d explains Anders Bojesen, Consultant Geneticist. \u201cGenetic testing can help with diagnosis and prognosis, treatment decisions and facilitate truly personalised medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Genetic testing is especially important where a family history of early cardiac death or unexplained cardiac events is concerned. \u201cConditions such as cardiac arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies and familial hypercholesterolemia can all have a genetic basis,\u201d explains Bojesen. \u201cGenetic testing identifies gene variants, such as the LDL receptor, allowing all family members to be tested and preventative measures to be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barriers-and-opportunities-in-ireland\"><strong>Barriers and opportunities in Ireland<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the National Genetics and Genomics Office (NGGO) is seeking to implement a National Strategy for Accelerating Genetic and Genomic Medicine in Ireland, it is still currently in development. Approximately 20,000 genetic tests in Ireland are still being sent abroad to over 80 different laboratories globally, with long turnaround times leading to delayed results and elevated financial implications.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s crucial to keep testing local,\u201d implores Bojesen. \u201cWithout local services, genetic knowledge isn\u2019t developed nationally. With a single accredited Irish provider and the right capacity, tests can be handled locally, which would be a stark improvement from the existing fragmented system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Conditions such as cardiac <br>arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies <br>and familial hypercholesterolemia <br>can all have a genetic basis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-equal-access-to-genetic-insight\"><strong>Equal access to genetic insight<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/genseqgroup.com\/services\/clinical\/gene-panels\/cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Genseq, the largest genomics laboratory in Ireland<\/a>, provides ISO 15189-accredited clinical genetic testing services to healthcare professionals, alongside a <a href=\"https:\/\/genseqgroup.com\/services\/clinical\/gene-panels\/cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">range of genomic solutions<\/a>. With expertise across the therapeutic areas of cardiology, neurology, nephrology, ophthalmology and oncology, the organisation is passionate about improving local access to valuable genetic insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about equal access to genetic testing. Faster results mean patients aren\u2019t waiting to commence treatment, which improves clinical outcomes,\u201d concludes Bojesen. \u201cGenetics is a powerful tool in cardiovascular care. It\u2019s not just about individual treatment; it\u2019s about prevention, family health and building knowledge locally, so we can continue advancing patient care in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-from-patient-health-to-national-health\"><strong>From patient health to national health<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With a turnaround time of between one and two weeks for single gene tests, and three to six weeks for panel tests, Genseq is <a href=\"https:\/\/genseqgroup.com\/services\/clinical\/gene-panels\/cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enhancing patient care across Ireland<\/a>, providing rapid results, timely clinical intervention and building local expertise for patients and their families throughout Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><div style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-button ab-block-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/genseqgroup.com\/services\/clinical\/gene-panels\/cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"ab-button ab-button-shape-rounded ab-button-size-medium fb-pixel\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#3373dc\">Find out more about Genseq<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insights from genetic testing can shape patient care, treatment selection and preventative healthcare strategies. Consultant Geneticist, Anders Bojesen, speaks to the importance of genetic testing in cardiovascular care. Genetic testing has emerged as a powerful tool for the assessment of individual risk for inherited cardiovascular disease, guiding preventative measures and potentially saving lives. Genetics guiding &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/cardiology-2\/genetic-testing-is-transforming-cardiovascular-risk-assessment-in-ireland\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5982],"tags":[5983],"class_list":["post-12844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardiology-2","tag-cardiovascular-health-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25144139\/vicky-1758811288-AdobeStock_1029846645-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/09\/25144139\/vicky-1758811288-AdobeStock_1029846645-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12844"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13016,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844\/revisions\/13016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}