EP 218: Cardiovascular genomics and the future of preventing heart failure with Krishna Aragam of the Cleveland Clinic

This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Dr. Krishna Aragam, Section Head of Cardiovascular Genomics and Precision Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. They discuss Krishna’s early experiences in population research and how they shaped his approach to genetics, the major discoveries transforming cardiovascular genomics from monogenic to polygenic risk, and how new insights into heart failure and population-specific variants are redefining the future of clinical care.

Show Notes: 

0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast

00:59 Welcome to Krishna 

01:40 How a gap year in India deepened Krishna’s interest in health and population genomics

06:16 Key advances that reshaped cardiovascular genomics from rare variants to polygenic risk

09:18 Where cardiovascular genomics stands today across coronary disease, cardiomyopathies, and arrhythmias

14:25 Factors that make heart failure challenging for genomics 

17:32 How monogenic variants and polygenic load shape risk in dilated cardiomyopathy

23:03 What genetics reveals about the roots of heart failure and why precise phenotypes matter

26:12 Using genetic risk to guide earlier treatment and prevent progression to heart failure

30:37 Subclinical markers and imaging strategies to track progression toward heart failure

32:04 Key research findings on an ancestry-specific genetic driver of dilated cardiomyopathy

41:21 Genetic signals highlighting the role of inflammation in coronary artery disease

43:11 Building a clinical genomics engine that connects discovery to cardiovascular care

47:14 Closing remarks

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bp2_wVNSzntTs_zuoizU8bX1dvao4jfj/view?usp=share_link

Find out more: 

• Genetic variants underlying DCM: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11631752/

•  Ancestry-specific CD36 study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02372-2