Do You Know What’s in Your DNA? If Not, That’s a Problem
From ICU patients to postpartum heart failure, genetic information could change outcomes — if only it were used.
Figuring out what’s lurking in your DNA.
Photographer: Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images
Genetic information can be life-saving in a medical emergency, yet it’s still rarely collected from adults — even when doctors are struggling to make a diagnosis. New research shows Americans need both greater access to genetic testing and stronger legal protections against genetic discrimination.
Some rare and devastating genetic disorders, such as Huntington’s disease or early-onset dementia, hide in our DNA like time bombs. But far more people carry mutations that can cause heart failure, seizures and ruptured blood vessels — dangerous outcomes that can be prevented if caught early. Testing for these conditions is getting faster, cheaper and more widely available every year.