Can epigenetic analysis of DNA methylation in the myocardial genome be used to evaluate individual differences in response to treatment among heart failure patients? Consulting Editor Dr. Nisha Charkoudian (U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine) interviews lead author Dr. Adam Wende (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham) and expert Dr. Bradford Hill (University of Louisville) about the innovative new study by Pepin et al. The authors studied human heart tissue obtained from heart failure patients during left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement surgery. Wende and co-authors found that one of the strongest signals in the epigenetic mark DNA methylation was differentially regulated by self-reported race, identifying specific patterns in patients who self-identified as either African American or Caucasian. Long term outcomes were found to be significantly worse in the patient cohort self-identified as African American. Can the epigenetic changes uncovered by the authors help explain why African Americans have a higher susceptibility to heart failure? Listen and find out.

Mark E. Pepin, Chae-Myeong Ha, Luke A. Potter, Sayan Bakshi, Joseph P. Barchue, Ayman Haj Asaad, Steven M. Pogwizd, Salpy V. Pamboukian, Bertha A. Hidalgo, Selwyn M. Vickers, Adam R. Wende Racial and socioeconomic disparity associates with differences in cardiac DNA methylation among men with end-stage heart failure Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published May 7, 2021. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00036.2021