Internationale Zeitschrift für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung

Developmental Origins of Cardiovascular Disease. A Missing Link in the Puzzle

Maqsood M Elahi and Bashir M Matata

Developmental Origins of Cardiovascular Disease. A Missing Link in the Puzzle

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and cause of early death in developing countries. The acceleration of early CVD epidemic is believed to be a consequence of interaction between the distribution of relative genotype frequencies and environmental exposures. In accordance with the developmental origin of health and disease (DOHaD)hypothesis adverse intrauterine influences such as poor maternal nutrition lead to impaired fetal growth. These adverse influences are postulated to also induce the fetus to develop adaptive metabolic and physiological responses.