A father and 7 brothers died of heart disease while 2 sisters and their mother are still alive
Genes affect the way we use excess fat in our body that can lead to heart disease. The story above has more data that I could list here. The amount of exercise and sedentary lifestyles lived by the siblings and whether pregnancy helps women shed toxic products in the body that can contribute to heart health. The diet is pork and less vegetables. Other considerations include: their health when they were inside their mother’s womb, breastfed or not, poverty, lack of clean water, environmental toxins or metal exposure from work or home, proper sanitation and others.

The three determinants of health are genetics (who we are), environment (where we live) and behavior/culture (how we live). Men has XY chromosomes while women as XX chromosomes which make it possible for men to inherit any genetic disorders from both parents. Male infants have an excessive risk of neonatal death by comparison with females. It has never been clear whether this male disadvantage is due to specific disease processes or is a general biologic feature of being male.
Rates of schizophrenia were found to be higher in males (39.8 per 100k) than females (22.4 per 100k). Ratio of Alzheimer’s Disease is higher in females than males, 3:1 (Female:male).

Written by Connie Dello Buono for Motherhealth Inc, caregiving for homebound bayarea seniors 408-854-1883

About LDL related genes:
A Clinical study by group of reserchers from UK and Australia reported linkage of the CETP gene to LDL particle size adds to the list of candidate genes linked to LDL size, supporting the hypothesis of multigenic determination of LDL size heterogeneity. A preponderance of small, dense LDL particles, elevated levels of plasma triglycerides (TG), and low levels of HDL characterize the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype, which is associated with increased coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. Genetic and environmental factors influence LDL size, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) being one of the candidate genes. CETP mediates the transfer of cholesteryl ester from HDL to apolipoprotein (apo) B–containing lipoproteins in exchange for TG, promoting reverse cholesterol transfer and remodeling of lipoprotein particles.
Ref: http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/101/21/2461.full