The report is in the journal Nature Genetics and says that around 4% of people on the Indian sub-continent carry the gene, which increases the chance of heart disease seven times.
Rates of heart disease in India are expected to increase rapidly in the next decade or so, as smoking and other lifestyle factors take their toll in the population.In fact, the WHO expects India to have 60% of the world's heart disease by 2010. Experts think that the discovery of this gene may lead to a screening test, but are not sure how this can help with management decisions.
The researchers first identified the mutation in the heart protein gene MYBPC3 five years ago in two Indian families with cardiomyopathy - a disease causing deterioration of the heart muscle.
In the latest study they looked for the mutation in 800 people with heart disease and 700 controls. They found the mutation was common - carried by 1% of the world's population. And the increased risk of heart disease - seven times that of people without the mutation - is so high is almost guarantees the development of heart problems.
The researchers said in younger people the body seemed to have an effective mechanism for breaking down and removing the mutated protein. But with age the mechanism stops working efficiently which is why heart disease in people carrying the gene develops in middle age.
