Our results reveal a significant putative HCM causative gene, P2X7, for the first time and show that germ-line mutations in P2X7 may cause a defective phenotype, suggesting purinergic receptor involvement in heart failure mediated through arrhythmias which need further investigations to be targeted for therapeutic interventions.
We investigated whether SNPs in the purinergic receptor (P2X<sub>7</sub>R) and apolipoprotein (APO) E genes, both involved in a series of inflammatory responses, are associated to HF or cognitive impairment and are able to predict post-discharge mortality in the elderly.