Pharmacogenomics in cardiovascular disease: the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms in improving drug therapy

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how an individual’s genetic inheritance affects the body’s response to drugs. Pharmacogenomics holds the promise that drugs might one day be tailor-made for individuals and adapted to an individual’s genetic makeup. Several studies have shown that both adverse and beneficial responses to cardiovascular drugs can be influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes coding for metabolising enzymes, drug transporters and drug targets. Despite the large amount of data about gene–drug interactions, the translation of pharmacogenomics in clinical practise is slow. To improve this, there is a need of new technology and large prospective trials allowing for simultaneous analysis of multiple genetic variants in molecular pathways that could affect drug disposition and action.