Figure 1.

The pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD) is affected by environmental and genetic factors and their interactions. Pathogenic mechanisms contributing to plaque development and subsequent CAD can be affected both negatively and positively by environmental exposures and genes. Environmental exposures can be either discrete (presence or absence) or continuous. Typically, CAD associated mutations and polymorphisms are found in genes encoding proteins that have key roles in intermediate pathways. Neither the environmental nor genetic lists shown here are comprehensive.